


Outsmart

by RubyRose30



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Akashi being Akashi, Angst and Humor, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Domestic, Feelings, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Plot Twists, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-04-25 11:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14377899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyRose30/pseuds/RubyRose30
Summary: After the crashing defeat he met during the finals against the Generation of Miracles, Ogiwara Shigehiro abandoned basketball and moved on. He secured a scholarship at Rakuzan High, and knew that he would have to face one of them there. How will things develop when he finds a new hobby but gets caught in the schemes of a basketball Emperor?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda changed Akashi's and Ogiwara's height slightly to make them fit more into the character(Ogiwara is a couple of cm shorter than Akashi). Crossposted on ff.net.

Months passed since the last time that he had touched a basketball, let alone enter a court. After working his soul up, Ogiwara had been able to gain an academic scholarship at the filthily prestigious Rakuzan High school. The worrisome state of his parents and big sister, along with the constant nagging of his brother-in-law led to this result. Hoping for the start of a better phase in his life, Ogiwara took a deep breath and made his first step inside the gigantic premises of the school.

His attention was immediately swooned by the richness of the place. The water fountain in front of the colossal buildings at the entry was breathtaking. The whole place looked like some exquisite campus found in foreign lands. Not one piece of trash was visible, and cherry blossoms graced the school yard with a fresh breath of spring. If his high school life would be at least one fraction as beautiful as the view laid before him, he would not have to worry at all about his youthful days spent here. After breathing in the feast of a splendid view, he slowly proceeded to the gym for the entrance ceremony.

Ever since he got his acceptance letter, Ogiwara knew that sooner or later he would have to face one of the generation of miracles in Rakuzan High. After all, he had been admitted to one of the three Kings. He had been mentally preparing himself, and secretly prayed that it would be Aomine, Kise or the purple giant, whom, thanks to Kuroko, he knew were not so brilliant intellectually to be in the same class as him. However, as expected, fate had something else in store for him.

The moment his eyes fell on the redhead on stage, he cringed. Flashes of painful memories began swooning around his eyes as he started to lose focus on the speech given by the person he least wanted to see. Akashi Seijuro. He still remembered vividly the treatment he had been given on the finals between Teikou and Meikou. His love for basketball had been tainted by the petty play and the words of the former captain of MiraGen. The depression that came afterwards, only his family knew. Ogiwara was immensely thankful to his family for putting up with him and pulling him out of this self-depreciating state he had indulged in. No one spoke about basketball seriously in front of him at home since that infamous match. Even his brother-in-law, Takuo Sato, who was the assistant coach of the basketball club in Rakuzan, managed to keep this topic away from his ears. It was from this gratitude that he followed their request of transferring to a new middle school and moving to Kyoto with his sister and brother-in-law.

The memories of his family time and the doting care he got since he moved to Kyoto helped him regain his calm, and thankfully, the speech by the heterochromatic student was almost over. He did not have to witness his victory-obsessed attitude on stage. Ogiwara let his eyes travel around until it fell on the assistant coach. He couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed Takuo-san struggling to keep the bored expression away from his face. The most surprising thing that he learned since he moved here was the impatience and never-ending appetite of Takuo-san. Takuo Sato was an over-excited puppy disguised in a grown man's body, and to top it all, his cheerfulness was over the top. It sometimes grew on the people around him, like in his own case.

The entrance ceremony was finally over and everyone was heading towards their respective classes. Being an achiever, Ogiwara was placed in Class 1-A, among the best students of this year's batch, and he knew very well that Akashi Seijuro, being the winning freak he was, will probably be there too. Crossing his fingers and biting his tongue, he entered the room and gave threw a swooping glance around. He sincerely prayed that Akashi would not remember him and leave him alone. The redhead was sitting in the first row, catching the attention of everyone in the room and yet giving off an aura that demanded no disturbance. There was only one window seat left. Rushing, he made his way to the window while avoiding to look at the redhead. His presence went unnoticed by the said person, who did not even bother to raise his head from the book he was reading as Ogiwara passed besides him to get to his seat.

After making himself comfortable, he began to look around and started to let down his guard. One thing for sure, there was many weirdo in his class. It was only the first day and yet a good handful of students were already plunging their nose in textbooks and notes. Sneakily, he threw a quick glance in front of him. Akashi was indulged in a book, a novel probably, and let around him an air of aristocracy and supremacy. Ogiwara noticed the slight blush with which the girls looked at the Akashi heir and the whispers that flew around the class concerning the quiet redhead.

_"hey, did you hear it? Akashi-sama has already started to work in his father's company as a-_ "

_"I heard that he came out first in the national exams-_ "

_"he's been selected as the new basketball captain even though he's a first year! How amazing-_ "

_"did you know that he's the captain of the Generation of Miracles-_ "

Ogiwara instantly frowned as soon as he heard those words. The Generation of Miracles. A wave of painful discomfort hit him. He cut himself away from the flying words in the room and shifted his gaze outside. Thankfully, the homeroom teacher came and a round of introduction soon followed. Akashi was the first one to introduce himself. He was curt and short with it, leaving the teacher dumbfounded for some instant before she regained her composure and proceeded.

Finally, Ogiwara's turn arrived. With a wide grin and a hand behind his head, he raised up and introduced himself, secretly scrutinizing the redhead's back when he said his name and from where he came. When he saw not even a slight reaction from the said boy, he felt a sense a relief sweep through him as he slumped back on his chair. The teacher was pleased with his attitude, and he even managed to catch the attention of some girls who were now blushing while peeking at him.

But most importantly, from the lack of response and interest, Akashi did not seem to remember him.

Ogiwara felt like dancing the Macarena at this new found information.

* * *

Ogiwara did not join any club after transferring to a new middle school in his final year but chose to polish his knowledge, and according to him, he deserved some golden award for doing it so well. Now that he was in high school, Rakuzan High had a lot to offer to him as extracurricular. Basketball, or any other sports, were out of question for him. He did not want to go through harsh trainings, especially since he lost much of his muscle mass, and at any cost did not want to compete with others with the current policy of this school. "Accomplishment in both letters and arms." This motto suited the Akashi heir uncannily well, but felt like a bitter pill in his mouth.

As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Ogiwara closed his notebook and stretched out his arms and legs on his seat. Only a few days had passed but he could already tell that the competition was going to be fierce in the academics here, and he had to make a lot of efforts to ensure his place as a scholarship student. While he was gathering his stuffs, some students approached him.

"Ogiwara-san! What club do you plan to join?~" asked one of the girls, Tamako-san if he recalled properly, while leaning on his table.

"Ehhhh—" Ogiwara sheepishly smiled while trying to think of something, "I'm kinda lazy to move, so I'll probably join the library committee club or something like that… What clubs are you planning to join?" He enquired, trying to keep the conversation alive.

"Oh! We thought you were going to join a sports club.." she mumbled, looking a bit disappointed. Ogiwara frowned slightly at this remark. He saw no reason why people should think of him as the athletic type.

" Ahh—we're going to join the cooking club. The home economics department is unbelievably well-resourced here! We're going to have so much fun" replied the girl cheekily, with her two friends nodding in agreement.

After some casual talk, Ogiwara set out for the cafeteria for some food. Even though there was a lot of place for him to sit, the canteen was packed with people trying to get their food in time. It was going to be tough to shop for food here every day. After struggling for fifteen minutes, he was finally able to buy a sandwich. Pleased with his hard work, he pulled the packaging out and started to dig in before settling for a seat in a corner. The noisy bustle of the cafeteria soothed the tensed form that he had been in class. Soon enough, he finished his lunch and made his way out while avoiding a particular unpleasant redhead.

On his way back to class, he met Takuo in the hallway.

"Shige-kun, clean yourself up" he said while pointing at the crumbs that were on his clothes and face. Hastily, Ogiwara brushed them away.

"Takuo- _sensei_ ," he started, laying a lot of emphasis on the word sensei with a mischievous grin, "thank you for telling me."

"Aiiiish, it feels so weird when you call me sensei. I feel like an old man," he frowned.

" I can't help it, since you're a teacher and an old man with a noisy wife," he said teasingly while sneaking away quickly. Takuo, feigning an angry face, was glad to see the kid joking around.

"Yaaaaaaaaa- " Ogiwara heard him yell behind me as he quickened his pace away.

As he was turning around to flash Takuo a cheeky grin, he bumped into someone. Hard. Like a log.

"Sorry! " he started apologizing loud and quick as he turned to face the person in front of him. He instantly froze when his eyes met with a pair of ruby red and flaming orange irises looking down at him with a slight frown. He could feel his eyes widening upon the dreadful sight in front of him. _Akashi was looking down on him._  Akashi was slightly longer than him, and yet he felt so little when faced with those eyes. He needed to get away. He did not want to feel the sense of lowliness again. He quickly bowed and walked away, in order to avoid getting in trouble for running in the corridors. He kept walking away without any sense of direction.

Ogiwara needed to get his feelings sorted. Since he was in the same class with Akashi, he knew that occasional meetings like that are bound to occur. He could not possibly avoid him every time, and in order to make sure that he goes unnoticed, he'd better behave like other students around the heir. While pacing around the compound, Ogiwara promised to himself to try his best not to get disoriented by the fearful redhead. Refreshed and yet tired after walking so much, he went to class pleased with himself and relieved to find the person in question nowhere near. During class and class breaks, he discreetly observed how the mass interacted with the Akashi heir. Scrunching up his nose, he decided that he would rather run away from this snobby brat every time instead of treating him like some goddamn royalty.

As soon as the bell buzzed to announce the end of the school day, students began rushing to their respective club activities or home. For Ogiwara, he could take the time of his life gathering his stuffs. After all, even though Takuo-san was the assistant coach, he had nothing great to do with the club activities during this time of the year. The head coach had taken up the task of welcoming the newcomers, leaving him free to do what he wanted after school hours. Ogiwara and Takuo planned on returning home together.

As he passed through the now empty corridors, he felt a sweet, pleasant smell tingling his nose. Being the dog that he was, he automatically steered in the direction of the smell and was greeted with a cozy view of the students working together in the kitchen. The pleasant smell was the work of the cooking club. The majority of them were cute girls with their giggles and small talks filling the room. There was a few boys around too, and the fact that they were surrounded with girls and food made their face radiate with bliss and ecstasy. Ah! The youthful days of a high school student.

Ogiwara had found the perfect club to join.

* * *

Delighted was not a strong enough word to describe how his sister felt when Ogiwara announced that he was going to join the cooking club at school. Takuo Shiori was in the heavens, all thanks to the amazing decision his little brother had taken. She was brimming with pride and relief throughout dinner, and her husband had no problem with the idea of having another chef in the house. Ogiwara knew that his sister had a tough time satiating the enormous appetite of her husband, and since he had been in their care for so long, he thought that this decision could really help them as he would be able to give a helping hand to his sister in the kitchen. He could also avoid that horrible mess of buying food at the school canteen. Needless to mention he would have the time of his life learning stuffs from pretty girls in the school kitchen. It's a win-win situation everywhere.

He was the only boy in class 1-A to join the cooking club, and this was enough to create a little wave of whispers and blushes when he walked through crowds in school. Thankfully, he did not get picked up for his choice, since Rakuzan had some pretty tight policies concerning bullying and ragging. Yet, he could feel the envious stares of some boys as girls kept coming to meet him in class to share recipes. He didn't mind the attention at all; in fact, he was welcoming it after being constantly avoided in his last middle school as an awkward transfer student who lost terribly to the MiraGen. He could easily blend in and enjoy the student life in Rakuzan, even though some students were pretty stuck-up. He made a lot of friends in the club and got along with  _almost_  everyone in his class.

He still could not stand a certain Akashi Seijuro.

Weeks started flowing by as Ogiwara became accustomed with the Rakuzan's pace of work. Things started getting livelier for him since he joined the club's activities. Even though he was an amateur, he was able to quickly digest the information on recipes and whisk out splendid dishes. He was loving his new found hobby of cooking and the lovely girls found in his club, and bragged about his food and cakes on every single occasion presented to him. The first semester was nearing an end, and Akashi was fully engrossed in his own matters, making it easier for the chestnut-haired boy to avoid him. Ogiwara had no interest in socializing with the snobby heir, unlike everyone in the class.

Rakuzan High started to show its true expectations as the recipes they got to make became fancier and more complex. Ogiwara was a little late compared to the rest of his club mates today, but it did not really matter since he enjoyed making the chocolate profiteroles. He ended up making a slightly more than he predicted, and thus had taken extra time in filling the puffs delicately with vanilla cream. After arranging the cream puffs like on his tray, which he would no longer be able to cover with the larger amount of food on it, he poured some chocolate cream on top of them to make a cascade-like effect. The end result made his mouth water, and the sweet smell of vanilla and chocolate did not make things any easier.

He squeezed the remaining vanilla cream in his mouth and washed the utensils he used. After cleaning around, he noticed that it was already dusk. There was no way on earth he would carry that fancy dessert on the subway home. Left with no other choice, he took his tray with the mountain chocolate cream puffs in hand and bag on shoulders and headed to the staff room, hoping that Takuo would be slacking there.

Of course, his bad luck shone as he was told that the teacher was in first string's gym. Ogiwara knew that it was practice time. He had the option of waiting around with his tray in hand or heading to the office and rush Takuo-san home. He contemplated on waiting outside, but the warm temperature threatened to melt the vanilla cream and ruin the fancy thing he spent hours to prepare.

Reluctantly, he began to approach the gym. He could hear the faint noise of the students practicing their game inside. Bracing up, he slowly pushed open the door and peeked inside. Everyone was engrossed in their practice game, and his lovely brother-in-law was nowhere in sight.  _Great._  He must be in the P.E office. This meant that he had to either get someone to call Takuo-san or walk to the P.E office. Ogiwara would rather walk on fire to Hell rather than drag  _those_  people's attention on him. Sending a quick prayer to god so that he could be left unnoticed, he started heading towards the office while maintaining the furthest distance possible from the game.

However, God must be playing a prank to him for such a disastrous thing to happen. As soon as he heard the shout "watch out!" from one of the players, he registered the basket ball approaching him and his cakes. No way in Hell would some flying shits ruin this fancy masterpiece he was carrying. Out of pure reflex, panic and rage, he scowled and punched the flying ball away from him and his beloved profiteroles. No one, or thing, gets between him and his food.

The ball went flew back to the court, which was  _far_  from where he was standing, and Ogiwara immediately looked at the punching hand as he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. He did punch hard without thinking much and his poor hand was starting to face the painful aftermath of his stupid action. He wanted the earth to open up and swallow him up as he lifted his head and noticed that every body's attention was on him. Now, he had a throbbing wrist and the unwanted attention of everyone. Ogiwara was annoyed. Hopefully, upon hearing the shout of the blessed player who noticed the ball flying towards his cake, both the coach and his assistant came out of the office to take part in the few seconds of awkward silence that followed after the punch.

"Woahhhhh! That was cool," exclaimed one of the players while grinning.  _Mibuchi Reo_. Ogiwara instantly recognized the uncrowned king. Mibuchi started to approach him when he heard another uncrowned king.

"He does not have much muscles, not impressive," Nebuya Eikichi disagreed with Mibuchi with a low grunt. Mibuchi stopped in his track and turned to the player.

"But he was able to avoid getting hit by hitting it first! That was cool, he has a fast reflex," he argued back with a small pout while heading back to the court.

"Everybody! Carry on with your practice," the coach shouted, causing everyone to resume their game. Ogiwara felt grateful to the coach for diverting their attention back to where it was supposed to be, away from him. He had tensed up pretty much from the glares that he was receiving, especially from a certain heterochromatic pair of eyes.

"Shigehiro! Are you alright?" Takuo-san ran towards the said boy and started to inspect his hand. "It is swelling up," he registered.

Ogiwara tore his gaze away from the sight of the two bickering idiots on the court and looked at Takuo. "It's not that bad. I'll put some ice on it later. Before anything else," Ogiwara started and looked at his brother-in-law seriously, "I'm returning home with you cause there's no way I'm taking the subway with this elaborate dessert in my hand," he said while gesturing at the display on his tray. "How long will you take?" Ogiwara was getting impatient.

Takuo-san was captivated by the sheer beauty that was laid on the tray in front of his eyes. Without thinking, he took one of the puffs and shoved it in his mouth instead of answering the teen who was questioning him. He closed his eyes to savor the exquisite taste that quickly filled his mouth. Ogiwara, on the other hand, was  _furious._ He had had this painfully awkward situation with the basketball team in the gym. Heck! He touched, no, he  _punched_  a basketball after so long, and was completely hanging on the loose with his patience. He was already annoyed with what had happened and wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible, but this stupid excuse of a brother-in-law he had would rather eat his handmade profiteroles without asking for his permission, before he had a taste of them himself(except for the vanilla cream which he would grade as 110/100). Ogiwara did not even had the time to react when Takuo-san went for a second serving. That was it. The last drop that spilled the cup.

"Listen to me, you idio-" Ogiwara started yelling when he was cut off. Without noticing so himself, he grabbed the attention of everyone in the gym again. Takuo had already entered another world, and could not care less about his surroundings when he interrupted the tantrum that his brother-in-law was about to throw.

"Those cream puffs are heavenly. Are you God?" Takuo asked with a serious yet approving face while going for a third one.

Poof! No one would have ever guessed that Ogiwara was fuming in rage a few seconds ago. He threw a skeptical look at Takuo and was now curious of his own work. He was hell-bent on having these for dessert with everyone else after dinner but this simple praise made him too curious to resist. He wanted to have a taste but the pain in his wrist warned him of the risks of using his right hand. Left with no other choice, he quietly asked his brother-in-law to feed him one.

Everyone watched with utmost disbelief as the raging brunette turned into a cinnamon roll after having a taste of his own food. Food can do amazing things to people. Ogiwara was contented with his life. He was proud of himself and he was almost teary when he realized that he would not be able to make such good food for some time because of the swollen wrist. Everyone was back to what they were doing previously when Takuo-san asked for the coach's permission to head home early using Ogiwara's swollen wrist as an excuse, which he was actually worried about. Completely unaware of the questioning glares that were thrown to him by a certain redhead, Ogiwara left the premises.


	2. Chapter 2

"We gave you a phone for a reason," emphasized Shiori. She wanted to punch everyone in the house. His little brother was injured and she did not like it at all. She felt like booting both males she lived with for being so reckless. "And that was for you to use it to avoid situations like this," she continued while pointing at his brother's swollen wrist. She was a bit worried, she admitted. She witnessed him going through hell and back because of what happened last year, and she wanted to make sure that no such thing ever happened again. That was the main reason why she insisted on having Ogiwara come to live with her. She had a bit of a brother-complex, but she couldn't help it! Her brother was too adorable.

Ogiwara was feeling a bit annoyed by the overly-concerned state of his sister. However, he knew that his sister was the most affected when he took that crazy downturn in his life while abandoning basketball. Knowing that Ogiwara came into contact with a ball after so long must have shook her a little bit inside. But that was no reason for the scolding he was receiving right now. He had to protect his awesome creation of a dessert.

"But we do not have the right to use our phone in school, and brother-in-law must have been busy since he was in the gym!" Ogiwara whined with a pout.

The squabbling continued until dessert time. Takuo-san preferred not to take sides; his wife's anger could be loud and painful at times. When Ogiwara took out the dessert from the fridge and placed them on the table, peace was established. His sister's arguments turned to unintelligent babbles as she took puffs after puffs in her mouth. Those puffs were amazing, Ogiwara confirmed.

Even though they were done arguing, Ogiwara could not prevent the extensive care that he got. His wrist did swell a little bit, but it was not unbearable. After the massage, cold ice treatment, ointments and painkillers, his sister wrapped his tiny wrist into a bandage carefully and bid him goodnight. Takuo-san soon followed with a couple of questions, like if he wanted to take a day off or if he could write. After the doting care he received, Ogiwara was sure that he could carry on with school. He also could not afford to miss one day with that fierce rat race he threw himself in when he scored a scholarship.

Ruffling his hair, Takuo proceeded, "Are you okay, kiddo?"

Ogiwara wanted to roll his eyes. this was like the umpth time that he got asked that question since he got home. He knew that they were genuinely concerned, so he answered truthfully.

"I would not have been fine if this happened a couple of months ago. But now that I've finally got over it, I don't mind those little happenings, though they can make things uncomfortable for me at times," he said, recalling his encounter with Akashi in the corridors. "As long as I have you all by my sides, and that Gorgon head away from me, I will be fine," he ended with his signature grin.

Takuo chuckled at his choice of words. "Gorgon head," he muttered with a tired smile. If the Akashi heir heard Ogiwara, both of them would be gone for good. "Are you sure?" he asked one last time.

"Hundred percent," Ogiwara confirmed.  
Takuo finally bid him good night as he went to his own room. Sighing, Ogiwara laid down on his bed and recalled the events that occurred to him today. It was indeed a long day. He shifted into a dreamless sleep quickly.

Meanwhile, in the Akashi mansion, a certain redhead teen got his sleep robbed away from him. Akashi Seijuro was not the type of person who forgets faces easily. Heck! He did not get those crazy eyes for nothing. He was someone who remembered and made people remember him. The punch that he witnessed in the gym that day stirred a feeling inside of him. A feeling of familiarity. Indeed, this intensity of the punch vaguely reminded him of Kuroko's passes, but the chestnut-haired boy ringed some bells in his head. He felt like he knew him, but he could not remember how, and Akashi knew that he would not find some sleep until he satisfied his curiosity. He was an Akashi, after all. He should know everything about anything.

He recalled his name from the introduction they had in class.  _Ogiwara Shigehiro_. Kuroko's passes. Suddenly, it clicked. Akashi's eyes widened as he recalled everything he knew about the boy. The final match against Meiko in their third year in middle school! He was the ace, and Kuroko's childhood friend. No wonder he could not recognize him instantly. He slimmed down a lot. Akashi would not believe that he was a former athlete if he had not witnessed his fast reflex. The heir felt like he did a good job at breaking him. After all, if this boy did not have some great potentials, he would not have gone out of his way to taunt him on the court along with fixing the match. Akashi felt proud as he let a smirk appear on his face.

He never thought that he would encounter the Meiko boy again in his life, much less in such conditions in high school. This boy, he could be an interesting addition to the club, Akashi contemplated. Various ideas began running through his mind as he weighed the pros and cons. Ogiwara did slim down a lot, but he was sure that he could fix that up. Akashi Seijuro was indeed no less of a god. He could give people's life a new meaning just as well as he could break them. Kuroko's basketball style could be an example to that. He was the one who spotted his potential and brought it on the surface. He had eyes that could see everything. And boy, was he scheming some stuffs in his head right now. He needed to observe the Meiko ace a bit more to brew up some concrete ideas. After all, the boy changed so much.

Things were finally breaking out of the monotony that had settled in his life since he got in high school. Sighing with a satisfied smirk, Akashi concluded that tomorrow would be an interesting day before finally getting some sleep.

* * *

Ogiwara started to regret his decision of coming to school as soon as he stepped into his classroom the following day. As if the bandage was not enough, his sister forced him to wear a wrist protector on top of it, and this little addition attracted the attention of many. A half dozen of classmates gathered around him as soon as he settled in his seat before homeroom. He did even get the time to breathe before an array of questions was thrown at him. Sighing, he began to answer some of them.

"No Tamako-san. I didn't get injured because of a fight. I just happened to protect myself not so well from getting hit with a basketball in the gym yesterday," he quickly replied his friend who was on the verge to throw a fuss about his injury, and relieved to see that his answer hushed down the crowd around him, Some of them were even heading away.  _Wait, did they expect him to break into a fight or something?_ Ogiwara shook his head disapprovingly.

"How will you manage with the club activities? Does it hurt a lot?" quickly enquired another club mate, throwing a concerned glance over his standoffish wrist protector.

"Ahh, I will see to it when the time comes. The pain numbed down a bit from yesterday. It's not that bad. I can write, though my handwriting will be kind of funny," he replied with a cheesy smile.

"Let us know if we can help you! You can borrow my notes after class if you want," chirped in Tamako. Ogiwara happily nodded, feeling grateful to have made such good friends.

The class suddenly silenced down when the majestic heir walked in. Ogiwara was in a foul mood since he woke up in the morning, and the treatment of awe that Akashi got in front of him was not making things any better. He was the injured one, for god's sake, they should look after him and not some spoiled rich brat. Ever since he got this injury, he felt uncharacteristically angry towards the Akashi heir and wanted to avoid his sight even more, though his conscience knew that the redhead was not behind his injury. His poor decision at that time was, duh.

Ogiwara looked everywhere else instead of the heir while he heard him drop his bag, probably next to his desk. However, when he observed the confused expressions of those who were peeking at Akashi all the time, he found himself turning his head to meet a pair of red and yellow eyes. Akashi looked like he was looking for him, and the moment their eyes met, the redhead raised his eyebrows slightly in recognition.

Ogiwara was puzzled, and began panicking inside when he saw Akashi approaching him instead of taking his seat. Akashi was coming towards him without breaking eye contact. Ogiwara felt like apocalypse was approaching. He did not want to be noticed by that particular person. He quickly looked around him, secretly hoping that he was not the object of interest of Akashi. Alas, the redhead kept his vision fixed on him. Knowing that the heir was probably going to address to him, he gathered all his courage not to chicken out. He refused to let himself wallow in a sense of lowliness again in front of those mismatched pair of eyes.

"Shigehiro," Akashi said.

Ogiwara wanted to slap some manners into the snob in front of him, but he had a scholarship position to maintain and a healthy life to worry about. Instead, he chose the safer way out.

Akashi observed with amusement and a bit of disbelief as the brunette in front of him flashed a smile so fake that it could put Barbie to shame. He even noticed the girl besides him cringe at the sight of the fake smile of Ogiwara. He could use that kind of smile to shoo away people that was bugging him, the heir reflected.

"Good morning, Akashi- _sama_ ," the brunette said, a bit too cheerfully along with that plastic grin. Akashi concluded that Ogiwara did not like his presence, and thought that his displeasure was sort of justified. However, he was an Akashi. He could not care less about such pettiness.

"Long time no see," the heir replied. Ogiwara frowned at the redhead's choice of words. He got a very bad gut feeling about this.

"How is your wrist?" Akashi continued smoothly, making it appear like a casual conversion for the mass who was secretly listening to them. However, the heir almost never talked to people around him, so this conversation was anything but normal.

Ogiwara felt loud alarms ringing in his mind as he kept going on the previous words that Akashi muttered.  _Damn! he remembered. Screw my life._  He struggled to keep his emotions away from his body language and expressions.

"It did hurt yesterday. But it got better now. Thank you for your concern, Akashi-sama," he replied politely, hoping that the redhead would catch the subliminal message in this small talk. He had to catch it, Ogiwara insisted in his thoughts. Akashi was some genius freak, after all.

Akashi was amused, to say the least. The brunette in front of him had some guts. Before he could end the conversation properly, the homeroom teacher walked in and everyone had to take their respective seat. Akashi heard the loud sigh that Ogiwara released as soon as he turned his back to him. He felt a little smirk creep on his face _. Let's see for how long you'll be able to put up that brave front while facing me_.

Ogiwara could not concentrate at all in class after the little talk he had with Akashi before attendance. The red freak show was definitely plotting something, and he could bet on his chocolate profiteroles that his schemes were up to no good. The fact that Akashi remembered him made him want to pack his bags and run away. Ogiwara admitted that the was a coward, and proved his cowardice by refusing to play basketball for so long. However, he knew that it was next to impossible to run away from Akashi Seijuro now that he had caught his interest. The most he can do now is to avoid him, and tell Takuo-san about this encounter. He definitely had to drag Takuo-san in this now, in case Akashi wanted to drag him back on a basketball court, which was most likely to be his plan. Ogiwara chuckled quietly at his own thoughts. He felt like he was preparing himself for a battle.

In the end, with his obvious lack of interest in class and malfunctioning wrist, Ogiwara ended up asking for the notes of his friend. Tamako, along with the two other girls who always accompanied her, walked to his desk.

"Ne, Ogiwara-kun, do you know Akashi-sama from before?" Tamako asked while handing her notes to the boy. Ogiwara internally shrieked as he heard the dreadful question of his friend.

"Yeah, we had a basketball match before, in middle school," he replied truthfully. "I never thought he would remember me though. To be honest, I secretly hoped that he did not remember me, but my bad," he ended with a sigh. Tamako frowned slightly at this new piece of information.

"So you're an athlete? and you faced Akashi Seijuro? The Generation of Miracles?!" Tamako continued agitatedly. Ogiwara was grateful that the room was nearly empty. Everyone was busy moving out for club activities, and hopefully no one heard the words of his friend.

" I faced them but I'm not an athlete any more. As you can see, I'm in the cooking club now," he shut them up efficiently with a smiling wink that got the two sidekicks of his friend blushing. "Keep this for yourselves," he silently pleaded to the girls as they proceeded to the home economics department.

Ogiwara had gotten the permission to skip the club activities as long as he took the recipes for the next few days until the school nurse gave her approval for him to resume. Slacking around in the kitchen, he took out his phone and texted Takuo, enquiring about the time he would be over with his club. Upon the insistence of his beloved sister, Ogiwara would be returning home with his brother-in-law till his wrist was completely recovered. After a few moments and tasty bites of food from his club mates, he got a reply, indicating him that the teacher would be caught up for some more time. Ogiwara sighed and looked around. The club activities were nearly over and some students have already started to leave. The kitchen would be closed soon.

Left with no other choice when he saw the last students making their way out, he left the kitchen and roamed around the premises. He did not want to go wait in the gym, especially after that painfully awkward punch he threw in there last time. Checking his mobile occasionally, he took notice that it was already dusk. Before it got any darker, he approached the gym and waited for Takuo-san outside, still adamant on not going in the gym. He could hear the faint noises of the game inside the big building, and surprisingly, he felt a soothing sensation rush through him as the tension he carried around throughout the day escaped.

After around fifteen minutes, he heard the coach blew a final whistle till the sound of the ball hitting on the gym floor stopped. Their practice was finally over. He moved in front of the door and smiled at the sight of his brother-in-law rushing out, towards him. Finally, his long wait was over and he could finally get home.

"Sorry for taking so long!" apologized Takuo as he approached Ogiwara.

"Hurry up, I don't want Shiori-nii to throw a fit at us for returning late," quickly replied the teen as both of them jogged away from the gym.

Akashi had a keen vision of his surroundings. He found the hastiness of the assistant coach to get away as soon as practice was over to be rather comical, but did not find it necessary to express himself. The said teacher ran to the office, grabbed his bag in no time and ran towards his exit muttering some apologies. Thirst for information being in his nature, Akashi turned around to see the person to which the coach was rushing and did not know what to think when he noticed a particular brunette who had picked his interest since yesterday. Ogiwara Shigehiro was smiling at the rushing teacher.

This was the second time that he saw those two getting out of school together. Even though Ogiwara came by yesterday holding that majestic tray of food and basically ordering a lift from the teacher in front of everyone, Akashi realized that he was so fixated on the idea of recognizing him that he let that important piece of information slip away. Better late than never. Akashi was never a person to let such hints escape his sights. Annoyed by the fact that he was late to catch such an evident detail that was laid in front of his blessed eyes, he fished out a phone from his bag and sent a single, straightforward message to someone. It was about time for him to know the relationship between the brunette and the teacher.

* * *

A quick shower later, and after recollecting the little glimpses of interaction he observed between his person of interest and the teacher, Akashi finally got to satisfy his curiosity. They were related. From the detailed message he received, he came to know that the assistant coach was married to Ogiwara's sister, Takuo Shiori, for 5 years. So the teacher was Ogiwara's brother-in-law, and he moved to live with them since his defeat last year. This explained the close relationship of the two. Akashi got wary of the assistant coach; he instantly predicted that Takuo Sato could be some sort of hindrance  _if_  he planned on dragging the brunette back to the court. But he could deal with the teacher. In any case, the head coach respected him more than his fellow assistant. Akashi Seijuro commanded respect every where he set his feet to.

Meanwhile, during the car drive back home, Ogiwara carefully explained to his brother-in-law the little talk he had with the majestic brat in his class this morning. He tried to be as explicit as possible while avoiding to let the older male get the hint that he was nearly going to piss his pants when the Emperor's eyes were set on him. Ogiwara could handle it, but he did feel safer and relieved after getting the support of Takuo. Takuo Sato was more of a big brother figure to him. With Takuo's over-cheerfulness and Ogiwara's perseverance and optimism, they shared an amazing chemistry.

"Let me know if the gorgon head approaches you again," said Takuo seriously. Since Takuo spent most of his time around him smiling like some goofy kid, his seriousness was alarming and commanding.

"Hai hai, onii-san," Ogiwara tried to break the tension than built in during the talk while approving with Takuo.

"And please," Takuo looked at Ogiwara with squinting eyes as if he wanted to cry. The sudden change in his composure took the teen boy aback. "Do not mention this in front of your sister," Takuo requested sincerely. Though Takuo loved his little brother-in-law to the moon and back, he did not want his wife to worry and spend sleepless nights worrying about the said teen anymore. Not when things have finally been settled calmly.

Ogiwara vigorously nodded in affirmation. His sister had showcased her 'affection' towards him. Not like it was a bad thing, but she could take some pretty extreme measures at times. Like the time she insisted, with a loud bang on the table during family dinner and breaking the door in rage afterwards, that Ogiwara should come under her care for the remaining months of his middle school years. She could be very scary, and sometimes unpredictable. Ogiwara did not want her sister to be worried about him more than she already was right now. He did not tell him that Akashi was in his class, though she might have guessed it when she learned that the brat had enrolled in Rakuzan High and joined the basketball team. His sister had already worked on some nerves(and muscles, dare he add) to tackle the red devil in case he caused any sort of harm to Ogiwara.

The night proceeded normally in the Takuo household, with the usual, small bickerings between husband and wife and the chirpiness of Ogiwara to render things more entertaining. The day ended peacefully for him, unlike how it started off at school.

Akashi, on the other hand, had some stuffs to look at that night. Settling down in front of his laptop, he checked his mails. More data was been supplied to him periodically upon his request. He had spotted some interesting faces since the beginning of this week both inside and outside the basketball club, and he was keen on learning more about them. Akashi felt more like himself as he breathed in new pieces of information. Summer slowly was approaching, and so was the Interhigh. But he was not worried about that particular tournament. His victory was guaranteed, there was no arguing over that. From the observations he made with during practice with the regulars, he could see his win crystal clear. He did not have to worry about anything. He was grouped with three uncrowned kings in his team, for god's sake.

Akashi had some other motives for the Interhigh. He was keen to observe the growth of the phantom sixth player of the Generation of Miracles, Kuroko Tetsuya. This was his main objective. Kuroko was the only person he knew who never failed to meet his expectations beautifully. Now that they were competing against each other, he knew that the teal-haired boy would bring a breeze of fresh air in his victories. For Akashi, winning was breathing. It was his automated response to any challenge thrown at him. Knowing that he would end up as the victor, his life quickly became monotonous as he began to foresee the course of any challenge thrown at him. He was a strategist and a blessed perfectionist on top of it. His executions were always on point and perfect since he was always miles ahead of his opponents. Except for one particular boy. Kuroko Tetsuya.

Akashi knew better than to make things easy for Kuroko. He had already started to work on a few tricks to throw the phantom player off balance when they would face off each other. After all, Akashi wanted to see if the teal-haired boy remained resilient in  _any_ situation. Akashi sure liked to look down some of his opponents like they were some bugs in this path, but he never underestimated their potentials. He made sure to qualify and quantify their abilities correctly before giving them the bitter taste of his supremacy and domination, be it on the basketball court or in official meetings.

He remembered the fiery determination that was shining in those blue eyes when he broke Ogiwara in front of everyone. Akashi knew verily that Kuroko would try to bring everyone is his former team down if he witnessed such a thing. He fixed that match because, well obviously everyone in the miracle team was too bored to care, but also to push that trigger that would turn Kuroko against the Generation of Miracles. Akashi had predicted that Kuroko would not be able to bloom completely around the MiraGen. It was about damn time for him to grow his potentials, and the match against Meikou was a golden opportunity presented to Akashi to stir things up. He looked forward to remind Kuroko that he was the Emperor after setting him up against everyone. Akashi was finally anticipating some real play time with the phantom player.

The Interhigh coming soon was only be a display through which Akashi would measure the growth rate of Kuroko. Kuroko was no strategic genius like him. Akashi had already predicted that it would be impossible for Kuroko to grow completely till the tournament. The bluenette had a very slight chance of facing Rakuzan High during the finals, and that would be only if Aomine did not play against the phantom man, which was most likely to never happen. Aomine would never miss such an occasion, Akashi corrected himself. He was sure that he would not be facing Seirin in the finals. His tricks were thus set for the Winter Cup. He had a lot of time to measure things up and concoct his ploy.

Akashi frowned slightly as soon as his eyes set on a particular mail from his officials. He had not finalized his stunts for the Winter Cup yet, and knew that the information found in that report could could make a decisive change. It was Ogiwara Shigehiro's medical report. The Akashi name was affiliated with many health companies and clinics. Getting a hold of such a report was no great feat for him. He always got whatever he wanted.

From what he could see, there has been some drastic changes in the health chart of the said boy since last year. Akashi had already seen that he lost a considerable amount of weight after the defeat he had met with, and the report gave specific details about his weight loss. It seemed like the Meiko boy lost weight because of some issues that went through his head after the match. He did not slim down on purpose, Akashi noted. Ogiwara Shigehiro had had a short episode of clinical depression, which came with some severe symptoms of eating disorders that Akashi could not care less about. He had no time and interest to be bothered with emotions and feelings. The redhead had already gotten a fairly accurate measure of the boy's mental strength during their last encounter, and concluded that(just like it was mentioned in the report) whatever issues Ogiwara might have had must have been resolved already. That boy was in the cooking club now, if not anything else.

His mismatched pair of eyes drifted to the information that he deemed as more important: his fitness. He scrutinized all the little details in order to get a proper image of Ogiwara's fitness, and truthfully, whatever Akashi found sucked. A whole lot. Ogiwara Shigehiro might have a great mental strength and all, but his body condition, in terms of athletic demands, made Akashi shook his head in disapproval. Akashi would have to put the said boy through hell to make him usable again and this trip to hell that he would have to arrange seemed to be  _quite_   _demanding._  He would have to deal a bit more personally with the Meiko ace before taking a decision. After all, he did not want to rush so much; the Winter Cup was not anywhere close. Akashi peered through the reports of another particular boy. He sighed and headed to bed, satisfied with his work for the night.

It might be better for him to set Kuroko up against his own self.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Akashi is tougher than I predicted :O I hope that I did justice to him, he has such a unique character after all. How do you find the story so far?~ Reviews will be much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Ogiwara felt a wave of triumph course through him as he finally took off the bandage around his wrist for good. The school nurse was writing a confirmation letter that his wrist was completely cured and that he could participate in the cooking club activities with no problems. After remaining four days in abstention from the club, Ogiwara missed the frying and the whisking that usually occurred in the kitchen. Though he might not have brought any ingredients for the dish that they were preparing today, Ogiwara gleefully accompanied his friends to the club. Just because he didn't bring anything did not mean that he could not do anything. He rejoiced of the idea of being able to cook again.

"Teamwork is the essence of club activities!" he exclaimed as he entered the kitchen with a heavenly smile.

"Says the one who did not bring anything to prepare," chimed in Tamako. "Your intentions are too obvious, Ogiwara-kun," she continued while shaking her head. The girl had stayed with Ogiwara long enough to observe his growing passion for the culinary arts.  
"Someone's been missing the pans and the spatulas, clearly," added one of her sidekicks.

"You know that you don't actually have to right to participate in the activities if you don't bring your own stuffs, right?" one of the club mates informed him.

Ogiwara indeed knew of that stupid rule that made his heart ache, but he had some tricks up in his sleeve. Just like Akashi Seijuro could threaten and his way into things, Ogiwara Shigehiro could charmingly coax his way into what he wanted. And today, he desired nothing more than to participate in the club activities. They were making mini tacos, goddamn it. How could he afford to miss that?

"Hello, Maeno-sensei," Ogiwara carefully approached the head of the home economics department, who was in charge of the cooking club.

"Good evening, Ogiwara-kun," the teacher replied while adjusting her glasses to have a better view of the teen. "How is your wrist now?," she enquired, taking notice that the bandage around it was now missing.

"It's completely cured," the boy replied happily. "I even got the nurse's permission to resume the club activities," he added with a bright smile while handling the letter of confirmation to the teacher.

The teacher quickly read through it and nodded in approval. "Good," she replied politely. "Since you don't have any ingredients today, you can observe your friends in the club and note down the recipe," the teacher continued while turning her attention back to the few papers that was laid in front of her.

It was the perfect timing for Ogiwara to use his trump card move now. The teacher was looking away from him. Before things got awkward enough for the teacher to look back at him questioningly, he played his little game.

"Ne, Maeno-sensei," he started casually to get the attention of the teacher back to him. As soon as the teacher looked at his face, he lifted his eyebrows slightly and made puppy dog eyes along with a little pout that always got his sister batshit crazy.

Head-shot. He internally jumped with joy as he registered the baffled look on the teacher's face .

"Can I assist my friends while they are preparing their dishes? It's been so long since I worked in the kitchen. I missed this feeling so much," he continued while maintaining that kicked puppy look on his face.

"I- I.. you don't really have the right to do so," the teacher said, obviously conflicted. After a few "pretty please" from Ogiwara and a moment of reflection, the teacher finally gave in.

"Fine, since you're so eager and missed so much, you may join your friends. But remind yourself that this won't happen again!" Maeno replied with a sigh. Kids nowadays could be so endearing, she thought.

"Ahhhh!" the boy exclaimed with joy. " Thank you so much," Ogiwara put on his best, 100-kilowatt smile and bowed deep in front of the teacher to show his gratitude. He noticed the blush on the female's face in front of him as kept his smile plastered on his face while straightening up. His sudden shift from kicked puppy look to blazing sun smile could work wonders.

Turning away from the speechless teacher, Ogiwara slowly hoped his way to his friends. He winked at some blushing girls around him and mischievously stuck out his tongue to the student that 'informed' him that he could not participate while giving his back to the teacher. Ogiwara internally patted himself for the good work he did to get the permission. He could be a pretty nice charmer when he wanted, and this was only the trailer of what he had in his mind for the activities today.

"Did you really just pulled that lame basic trick on the teacher? What are you, some host or something?" Tamako mockingly whispered to the teen boy. The girl was finally loosening up from this 'good-girl' façade in front of Ogiwara, who was pleased that he could see a more realistic side of his friend.

"Watch me," he replied.

Tamako narrowed her eyes as he watched the boy grab a bowl and sneaked his way to some girls. She rolled her eyes so hard that she could almost see the back of her head when she saw Ogiwara putting on that sickeningly sweet smile while asking for some 'excess' ingredient from their club mates. Boy, did he know how to work his way. He managed to poach a little bit here and there. Tamako was clearly impressed. Her friend could be an efficient salesman in the future. She chuckled in disbelief when her friend came back with a little of every ingredient required to make some decent tacos.

Ogiwara gave Tamako a smirk as he proceeded on preparing the dough for the taco shells by whisking some flour, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. He knew that he did not exactly receive the permission to work on his own dish, but who cares! Ogiwara comforted himself with the fact that he was also helping his friends by giving them company. Oh well, it was not like the teacher in charge had the eyes to catch his little crime.

Ogiwara was quick to finish his little servings. He had the most trouble filling in the little taco shells, and chuckled wickedly at the idea that everyone who had even more shells to fill would face a hard time. He only got to make five little pieces of marvelous tacos, and yes, he was secretly envious of everyone else in the room for having more, because tacos are delicious food to eat. He packed his tacos in his empty bento box and looked around. Everyone was about to start filling their taco shells. Feeling the teacher's eyes on him and a little bit guilty for his previous wicked thoughts on the misery that his friends were about to face, he decided to give them a helping hand like he was supposed to do.

Ogiwara admitted that he could be very meticulous at time. This was definitely the reason behind the fatigue he was experiencing after almost everyone in the kitchen asked for his help to fill the devil's trap of some taco shells in front of the teacher. Karma quickly caught up with him for the little trick he played, he sighed. He was tired from the constant assistance he gave those whining students, and decided to return home with Takuo-san so that he could relax as quickly as possible. He even thought of bribing the teacher with one of his tacos in case he miraculously refused. Maybe he could get him to quicken up with his own club activities while waving the delicious tacos before his eyes, he laughed at his own idea. It was already so late.

The teen boy felt a little boost of energy when he noticed some students cleaning up the gym. The gorgon head was not in sight.  _Score_. Basketball practice was over! He did not have to wait for his brother-in-law to get home.  _Double_   _Score._ He noticed the older male come out of the P.E office with his packed bags, looking ready to leave. As soon as the teacher lifted his face towards the door, Ogiwara began waving like crazy to catch his attention. Takuo smiled, but it was instantly replaced with a deep frown as he began shouting without thinking twice.

"Yaaa baka! Why are you waving so much with that hand? Put your bandage on quietly and let your wrist heal properly," the older male scolded him loudly in front of every (few) body in the large building. Even the head coach peeked outside the gym to look at the sudden commotion made by this assistant.

Ogiwara blushed hard when he noticed everyone's attention shifting to him and pouted. For one, he hated being called stupid. He was a scholarship student for a reason, and that was for not being stupid. The only person who was allowed to call him stupid was his own stupid self when he did something wrong and got into a self-depreciating cycle. Secondly, He did not like to get scolded at all, especially when it was for nothing like in this case. His wrist was fine now. He finally got the nurse's stamp of approval to do whatever he wanted with that hand. If he wanted to wave, he would wave it like some flamboyant flag. If he wanted to punch, he would freaking punch this idiot excuse of a brother-in-law he had who was rushing towards him.  _Why could not Takuo just inquire about his wrist before making this very wrong assumption and calling out on him so extravagantly?_

"It's completely healed now, Sato-san. Thank you so much for asking," he replied sarcastically with a pointed mouth and lifted eyebrows.

The teacher threw his free hand at the back of his head and began scratching awkwardly. He gave the teenager an apologetic smile.  
"Ah really? haha. My bad, then. Come on, let's get back before it becomes too dark," Takuo-san said, trying to change the topic.

"Bad Sato-san," Ogiwara said while avoiding the gaze of the older male and walking away. "You are not going to get a taste of those mini tacos I made for not apologizing to me after such a loud and inappropriate scolding," the teen boy teasingly reprimanded the teacher.

"GOMENNASAI SHIGE-CHAAAAAAAN," Takuo shouted quickly while following the teen boy like some lost puppy. He did not want to miss any of Ogiwara's godly creations in the kitchen.

The brunette smiled in satisfaction. He got to take his revenge for this little humiliation he just faced almost immediately. It was nice to tease his brother-in-law at times. Those two kept on with their usual babbles as they made their way out of the gym.

Akashi took note that the brunette's wrist was healed. However, Ogiwara was not his priority for the moment. He could always get to the said boy later. He had to set up the training for another particular boy who he was about to involve in his plans for Tetsuya first.

Akashi Seijuro was not kidding when he thought of putting Kuroko up against his own self. His Emperor's eyes missed nothing around him, be a brave front or a weak presence. He had already ensnared the perfect candidate to train for that particular task. Mayuzumi Chihiro shared the same lack of presence as Tetsuya, but was a better athlete than the bluenette. Akashi had been quick on spotting and measuring up his abilities. The redhead had already made his first move. He got the said boy to cancel his resignation from the club and took the responsibility to teach him the techniques he required. Akashi was in the process of making a new model of the phantom sixth man that would surpass the current prototype. And obviously, he planned on revealing this little surprise to Tetsuya for the Winter Cup.

The Akashi heir did not have to do much to move the boy in the first string. The head coach complied to every of his commands. Akashi had already worked out a plan to train of the new phantom player. After discarding the polite language with which he approached the upperclassman, he made sure that the boy followed the special training he set up for him on point. He decided to focus more on Mayuzumi, instead of a certain brunette, till the new phantom would finally get used to his regimen. Akashi had to ensure that everything concerning the improved sixth player was progressing perfectly. He accepted nothing but perfection.

* * *

It was the second week of May and the summer season was just behind the door. The change in season was starting to be felt. It was increasingly sweaty for Ogiwara to cook and for Akashi to practice his already perfect game, but both could not care less about the water loss. They were too indulged in their respective activities to be bothered. Akashi was able to predict the growth rate of the new phantom's abilities at misdirection and was pleased to see that the said boy had finally settled in his practice routine. However, this arrangement only brought a piece of monotony back into his life's schedule, and the redhead was adamant of pushing away that boredom before it got settled.

His attention shifted to a certain brunette in his class. After measuring up the capacities of the new prototype of the phantom sixth man, Akashi knew that the addition of Mayuzumi Chihiro in the team of regulars, along with the already included uncrowned kings, would be enough to disturb the physical, mechanical play of current phantom player. However, such challenges were a common thing in competitions, especially on a large-scale tournament like the Winter Cup. Akashi Seijuro had other plans. He wanted to squeeze that Meiko boy in his team, whether as a benched player or a regular, in order to observe the mental dilemma and reaction of Tetsuya after such a change. How would the teal-haired boy react to see the very reason behind his determined opposition and defiance towards the MiraGen back to the game and 'ready' to confront him along with the very person who broke him?

Akashi Seijuro was certain that Mayuzumi Chihiro would be ready by the time of the Winter Cup tournament. He now had to get his Emperor's eyes to work on Ogiwara Shigehiro.

Ogiwara woke up with a loud and resonating sneeze. He was facing the bad consequences of going against his better judgment last night. For him, it was already summer time, and the heat wave that was felt during the previous night was just too much for him. He had to keep the AC in his room running to be able to survive this harsh condition. Even though his sister warned him to turn off the thing for a while after his bath, he unblinkingly threw caution to the wind and savored the chilled air with his wet hair. Ogiwara was a winter person. He would rather layer himself with all sorts of clothing till he deformed his body shape in winter instead of wearing barely anything in summer.

He recognized the tingling in his nose and the itchiness at the back of his throat as the symptoms of an incoming cold. So much for some peaceful air. Ogiwara shook away his annoyance and proceeded to get to school. He somehow miraculously managed to avoid the radar of his sister about the warning signs of the cold. Even though it was blazing hot for his skinny body, he decided to sneak his school jacket with him in case things got worse during the day.

And indeed, things did get worse. Ogiwara kept on thanking the gods for the additional piece of some amazing clothing he had with him as he felt a sudden coldness surrounding him at the start of the first period. He did not want to miss his favorite class of Modern Japanese, and thus pulled out his jacket and got in it for the instance. He did catch the curious peeks of some students in the back, but well, he had a not-so-healthy body to worry about currently instead of the judgment of other people about his appearance.

His deteriorating health was no hindrance in his attention in class. He was too captivated by the new stuffs he learned to let the breaking cold get the best of him. However, as soon as the teacher walked out after the bell rung for break, he felt as if someone threw a stone on his head. He got conscious of the pounding headache he was experiencing, and dear god he did not want any of that. He cautiously made his way to the nurse's office and got some help, along with a sad warning that he might feel sleepy soon and a very tempting invitation to spend the next couple of periods in the infirmary. Ogiwara was a lazy kid, but he had already had his dose of privileges when he had a malfunctioning wrist. Though the offer was quite enticing, he decided to go back to class and take down his own notes instead of requesting from his friends again, not after he did that a lot just some time ago. He had such a good conscience, Ogiwara implored.

By the time recess came, Ogiwara was close to making love with his school jacket, which he openly declared as his bae to his friends. The looks that the girls threw to him afterwards made him kind of regret his decision of voicing out his feelings though. It was such a cruel world, Ogiwara thought with a painful expression. The medication made him somewhat delirious. Naughty nurse, he mused as he realized that the Actifed syrup the nurse made him take( since the pills were over) had a (low) alcohol content. He was feeling so tired and sleepy, and the fever that the cold brought along got him even more messed up. The medicine was late to kick in, but the headache thankfully dimmed down.

Ogiwara slowly made his way to the staff's room in search for his brother-in-law. He wanted to chuckle as he watched Takuo react to his current situation just as he had predicted. The older male dragged him to a corner away from the crowds, out of sights and did the doting care package ritual that his sister used to pull on him whenever he fell sick. Checking his temperature, asking 21 questions, scolding and reprimanding him, rigorous pats on the head and a lot of whining with tight hugs; you name it, and Ogiwara could claim that his brother-in-law did it.

"Let me take you home," the teacher insisted. He had been going on with this idea ever since Ogiwara told him about the cold.

"Thank you for asking but it's not necessary, Sato-san. I already took some meds, and I  _really_  don't want to miss class." the boy replied. For a moment, Ogiwara seriously thought of taking out a tape recorder, recording that one sentence and playing it over every time his brother-in-law asked him the same thing over and over again.

Did Ogiwara mention that the doting care package also came with a lot of unwanted requests like returning home or going to the hospital? If not, well, it sure did happen.

"Ahhh! So hard-working! You make me so proud, Shige-chan" Takuo-san exclaimed while wiping off some fake tears with a pained smile.  _Yes!_ The idiot teacher was finally convinced.

 _There he goes_ , Ogiwara thought with a little bit of exasperation as he watched the older male bloating with pride and joy of having a little brother like him. The teen boy hoped that his answer this time would shut the unwanted requests off.

"But Shigehiro," Takuo got all serious again, "you can still take the notes from your friends. It would be better for you to get home."

" You know," Ogiwara started truthfully. He wanted to slap his stupid self for thinking that he could convince a teacher, who worked with kids like him all the time, with that lame excuse. "I don't want to ask for notes again. I abused of this privilege a bit too much when my wrist was all bandaged and protected fancily. My conscience is too clouded to go after their notes so quickly again. I don't want to be a leech," he whined.

"But you said you could write…," Takuo started.

"Abuse is a strong word, and that's why I used it. To tell you exactly about how I asked for notes from my friends and classmates alike even though I could write." Ogiwara stated quickly.

Ogiwara watched the bloating self of his brother-in-law float away.

"So stupid!" the older male said in frustration. For once, Ogiwara did not mind being called stupid, and that was because he completely agreed with Takuo on that part.

"You should have  _only_  used that privilege at that time. You should never abuse on doing such things! You see, karma works in strange ways," Takuo pondered in the middle of his set of instructions. Ogiwara could not agree with him more as he recalled the taco incident in the cooking club."Anyway, you are going to skip your club activities for today!"

"But I do- " Ogiwara could not interrupt the wave of orders that was being thrown at him.

"I'm going to talk to Maeno-sensei and tell her about your condition. You will head to the infirmary instead. You're going to take your meds and  _stay in bed there,"_ the teacher emphasized, "till I come fetch you so we can go home together," he finally ended.

Ogiwara reluctantly nodded.

Ogiwara managed to get some notes from his friends by the end of the school day despite his constant denial, as well as some good sleep in the infirmary. When he woke up, it was already dusk, though it was not getting dark outside. He must have slept for a long time, he thought. Still half-asleep and very groggy, he winced as he registered the bitter taste of the meds he took before heading to bed in his mouth. He liked chemistry but hated to experience this subject of study so first-handedly in his mouth. As he sat on the bed and pulled the white curtains back to the corner, he saw a figure that made him want wet the infirmary's bed and puke his guts out at the same time.

Akashi Seijuro was sitting on the nurse's chair with a book in hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some Akashi-Ogiwara drama!

Akashi was excessively proud and arrogant of the Emperor's eyes that he had. He rejoiced every time he caught the signs and hints of rarities that he had been anticipating for, and today was such a day. He made the right guess as he noticed the jacket that Ogiwara was carrying in his bag in the morning. If today went as he predicted, he could have the brunette in a position of defenselessness.

The heir was satisfied with what he observed during the whole day. Ogiwara Shigehiro got sick and was certainly going to skip his club activities for today. After commanding everyone their job and task, he left the basketball practice a bit earlier than usual, ensuring that the coach and his assistant had some good work on their plate for him to get the privacy he wanted for the meeting he was looking forward to. He headed to the infirmary after excusing himself from further sports practice for the day. Everyone knew better than to disrupt the agenda of the red tyrant when he had set his mind on something. Akashi left the gym with no trouble.

As soon as he entered the school's infirmary, Akashi threatened the nurse away with some sweet words and a polite smile. The nurse was hesitant to leave her task at first; after all, she had a sick patient to look after. However, when the Akashi heir told her that he could do that particular task for her, she did not even think twice before grabbing her bag and running away. Akashi finally got to have some personal time with the brunette, only to find him sleeping like some drooling puppy. He lifted one eyebrow as he saw the drool hanging out from a corner of Ogiwara's mouth. Well, it was not that the redhead had not predicted such a thing. He contemplated on waking up the sleeping boy and get to the talk, but he could enjoy a few moments of silence. He thus took out a book from his bag and started to read as he waited for the sleeping boy to wake up.

When he heard the curtains rustling, Akashi lifted up his eyes to meet the chocolate brown eyes of the brunette. He closed his book with one hand and watched the said boy intently. The moment his mismatched eyes registered the paleness that spread on Ogiwara's face, he smirked slightly. He savoured the instant fright that the boy experienced when he took notice of his presence. Akashi could finally talk to the brunette without the stupid brave front he usually used when addressing to him. He would be able to shake up the brunette's mind and pressure him into following his course of action.

After a few moments of a painfully awkward and terrifying silence, Ogiwara realized that, amidst the chemicals that was raging in his body and the cold that knocked him out, he was too tired to actually feel afraid of the red heir. The initial scare was because of the unexpected sight in front of him, but he earnestly did not want to deal with his 'Bokushi'-ness right now. For all the things that he was going through, he would actually feel happy if the snobby brat decided to kill him. He was feeling like shit, and the tyrant in front of him decided to choose this very moment to talk his little wicked schemes into him. Duh, how  _unexpected_.

"Shigehiro," the redhead greeted. Ogiwara could not fight the urge to roll his eyes at the lack of manner.

"Seijuro," he mimicked the redhead with an air of extravagance.

Two can play at that game. For the first(and probably last) time in his life, he decided to give the heir a taste of his own treatment. Blame it on his cold and the medication that got him light-headed. He could regret about his decision later. Ogiwara felt a weight lift off his shoulders the moment he ditched the treatment of royalty while addressing to the snob brat in front of him.

Ogiwara felt like patting himself in the back as he watched the heir's eyebrows lift slightly in surprise. Now, he would know how it felt like when someone felt disrespected by his lack of manners. He was happy to wipe off the smirk that the red head was sporting earlier and felt satisfied by the frown that settled on his face instead. However, the frown was soon replaced by an amused look, and that particular look on Akashi's face did hit on some nerves in Ogiwara.

"Interesting," Akashi mused mockingly. "So, you see yourself as my  _equal_  enough to address me on a first name basis. You shall not be bothered by my plans for you then." Akashi glared at the brunette.

"Wipe that ugly drool off your face." He commanded the brunette to remind him of his position.

Ogiwara knew very well since the beginning that the Akashi heir was plotting something bad for him. Instead of getting all fearful and terrified like he was supposed to feel if he was in normal conditions, He was irritated by the tactics of the redhead. If the heir thought that he would be all weak and pathetic after catching that cold, well that would be Akashi Seijuro's biggest historical blunder of all the time. Ogiwara hated to be disturbed when sick. When he said that he did not want to deal with the 'Bokushi'-ness of the majestic idiot in front of him, he  _really_  meant it. The brunette felt his anger snap when the snob commented on his drool. He was sleeping like a log just moments ago, for god's sake! He was going to read that spoiled brat just now, he thought impulsively.

"First of all, I don't see myself as an equal to you and if you're as intelligent as you claim to be, you should know why I called you by your first name," Ogiwara started his rant. Come hell or high waters, he was not backing away now.

"You are a horrible, egoistic brat who boasts on his grandeur and status while I'm a very humble person who knows how to give a person his due respect when addressing to him, irrespective of his position in life. There's no way for us to be 'equals'," Ogiwara stated as a matter of fact.

" You thrive on your blessed basketball skills while I cower away from anything related to sports, including basketball," Ogiwara paused to take a breath. "You usually scare me shitless but I'm really too tired to deal with your shit today. So whatever you were thinking about, keep them off my back," he ended.

Akashi was furious for being called out. This was the first time that someone dared to talk to him like that since he got the emperor's eyes. He knew very well that he was a horrible person who could not care less about the emotions of others, and he did not need to be reminded of it by some sick little puppy in front of him. However, what pissed him off the most was that blunt attitude of Ogiwara. That kid was supposed to be sick and feeble. After such a long time, things were not proceeding according to his predictions. As much as he found it entertaining and infuriating, Akashi kept his demeanor as usual: collected and completely indifferent.

"Watch your mouth when you're talking to me," he warned Ogiwara.

"I could do that another time, when I'm not all sickly and done with your antics," Ogiwara retorted back quickly.

Akashi somehow managed to maintain his calm appearance till now, but inside he was completely baffled and brewing in anger.  _How dare this weakling address to him in such a way and retort back to his orders?_  Akashi Seijuro was left speechless for a moment, but it was now his turn to snap.

"Look, _Meiko_  boy," he started while glaring at Ogiwara with glowing eyes, "I was the one who broke you and your little pathetic game. I was the one who changed your life, literally, and I can do much worse than a simple match-fixing. I've been tolerating you for a while now, so you better stop with this little confrontation game and  _listen to me_ ," Akashi commanded in a silky, but menacing voice.

Akashi watched with satisfaction as the brunette flinched, especially at the mention of his old middle school name. Ogiwara gulped visibly and started to shake slightly under his intense glare. He had his Emperor's eyes glowing and glaring at the said boy. If the boy did not feel the threatened now, he might as well gauge out his eyes and offer them to him as a reward for his bravery. It was about damn time for Akashi to remind the shivering fool in front of him that he was a force not to be reckoned with. He was the Absolute, and his words were truth.

Ogiwara was visibly as well as mentally shaken, but he refused to give in to the sense of lowliness that the redhead was trying to drown him in. Akashi Seijuro was not going to get him down again. He collected his thoughts and managed to speak before the tyrant carried on with what he had planned.

"You're right about many things," Ogiwara admitted with a painful sigh, "but if you think that you can still get to me, you're wrong. You're definitely wrong on that part," Ogiwara felt really tired, but he made sure to lace every word that left his trembling mouth with sincerity.

"Shigehiro, you seem to miss something here," the redhead started calmly, and Ogiwara felt a cold chill run down his spine from the cold and unyielding voice of Akashi.

"Because I always win, I'm always right," Akashi reasoned. "You are in no position to defy my words, and you're going to listen to my order and- " the heir got interrupted as Takuo-san opened the door and grinned on his way inside the infirmary.

"Shige-chaaaaaaan~~~ your wait is finally over! Let's get you home for some good treatment now." The moment the teacher's eyes fell on a pair of heterochromatic ones looking at him in annoyance, he could swear he felt the language center in his left brain collapse from the shock.

The poor teacher gulped and blinked once. Twice. And then finally responded.

"Ah, Akashi-kun! I thought you went out of the school premises for your important task," he addressed to the redhead carefully.

"You got here right at the perfect moment," Akashi said, though obviously annoyed with the sudden interruption. It would be better to announce his decision to both at the same time. This would only reduce his tasks.

Looking back at the brunette in front of him, he resumed to what he was stating beforehand.

"Ogiwara Shigehiro is going to- " before Akashi got to complete his sentence, he watched in complete disbelief as the person he was referring to rolled his eyes back and fell sideways on the bed he was sitting on.

Of all the time, Ogiwara chose this particular moment to lose consciousness, and Takuo-san lost all colour on his face as he witnessed the whole scene.

* * *

Ogiwara felt like Leonardo Dicaprio. He was Jack Dawson from the Titanic, Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, and so many more. He wanted to claim an Oscar award for the spectacular piece of acting he pulled out in the infirmary. He seriously considered the idea of joining some acting classes as he felt an inner talent bloom in him. He was completely done with Akashi, and felt a huge wave of relief when he saw Takuo-san entering the room. The entrance of his relative was the inspiration behind his little act that took both males in the room by surprise. He could rack up some pretty little tricks from his mind when he wanted to.

As soon as he heard the Akashi heir take his name, Ogiwara jumped, or more precisely slipped into action. He rolled his eyes and closed them as he let his body fall sideways on the bed with a light thump. He could be a drama queen sometimes and exaggerate on his actions, but for now, he had to pull this off as realistic as he could afford, especially when he had the Emperor's eyes settled on him. As far as he knew, no one had managed to fool Akashi Seijuro. However, being the optimistic idiot that he was, Ogiwara stilled his face and body , breathed calmly and evenly while praying to god that he could pass his little stunt a genuine stuff in front of the redhead.

Ogiwara was sincerely sorry for his poor brother-in-law as he acted out his fainting, but the imposing attitude of the Akashi heir was far too much for him now. He could always treat Takuo-san some great feast afterwards as an apology; after all, the best way to please the older male was by worshipping his belly, which still managed to remain flat after all the food that he witnessed him devour. Ogiwara was completely done with the red tyrant, and had his little remaining patience chopped off by the sudden entrance of his relative.

The moment his body hit the soft cover on the bed, Ogiwara heard the shriek that his brother-in-law let out. It had to be Takuo-san because Akashi Seijuro would never be so expressive in his whole damn life. After a few moments of silence as the standing males digested what happened, Ogiwara heard Takuo let out a string of high-pitched, fast-speed, brainless babbles in a state of panic. He heard the older man's voice increase in volume along with his quick, approaching footsteps before his body was suddenly lifted. The teacher had broken into full-on medic mode as he slung the bag of Ogiwara over his shoulder, swooped the 'fainted' boy in his arms and rushed out of the room.

"This little- ughh!" the brunette heard Akashi grunt in frustration when Takuo passed besides the redhead while rushing out.

Ogiwara concentrated intently on the sounds surrounding him as his brother-in-law rushed in the corridors. He could hear only one set of footsteps, meaning that the red devil was not following his carried self. Ogiwara felt some tension escape, but he had to be cautious. Akashi Seijuro could be moving as sneakily and swiftly as some goddamn poisonous cobra. He could be mistaken about his assumption that he was not been followed. To remain on the safe side, he carried on with his little charade for a while. Ogiwara wanted to smile at the very careful way Takuo-san laid him in the backseat of his car. He had a very loving family. When the brunette felt like the car had driven far away enough from the school premises and a certain fury redhead in it, he finally dropped his act.

He opened his eyes and sat straight. His brother-in-law did not notice him and kept on muttering how his sister would starve him, kill him, kick his butt and many other horrible things. Ogiwara decided to put an end to the panic of the older male and addressed to him.  
"Sato-san," he said apologetically.

Takuo-san let out the most girly scream ever as he was caught unexpected. The car suddenly screeched and took an abrupt turn. Takuo went to park in the sideways before turning back to Ogiwara to see the teen boy up and staring straight at him. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the brunette again, only to see him unmoved and still looking at him with a strained expression. Without thinking twice, he jumped out of the car to get to the backseat besides Ogiwara.  
"Are you okay?" the teacher asked with a very concerned expression while taking the hands of the teen between his palms.

"I'm fine, actually. Except for the cold. I pretended to faint so that you could take me away from the Gorgon head," Ogiwara quickly blurted out. "I'm sorry for making you worry so much about me! Gomennasai" he apologized loudly while shedding off some drama queen tears.

"I swear that I forgot how to breathe for one whole minute, you know! One minute! Sixty full seconds without an oxygen supply!" Takuo exclaimed with widening eyes. "Add thirty seconds more to that and I would've been lying unconscious next to you in that infirmary with the Gorgon head turning us to stones with his deadly glare!" he continued with a big pout and glistening eyes.

"You almost killed me, but I'm so glad that you're doing well," Takuo ended his whining with a face showing relief.

"You are the savior of my life, Sato-san!" Ogiwara cried.

"I'm thankful that we both got out alive too!" Takuo cried back.

"THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!" they both exclaimed in unison.

The dam broke and they both had one of their ridiculous emotional meltdown. Both males hugged and cried gallons of tears in relief.

On their way back home, Ogiwara told Takuo about the talk he had with Akashi. The teacher sang praises of him and his courage throughout the narration. Takuo comforted Ogiwara by telling him that he would drag the head coach in this matter if Akashi tried to coerce him into doing things he did not want. Though the heir did not really get the occasion to voice out his plan exactly, both Ogiwara and Takuo had a pretty clear and consistent idea about it. Needless to mention, they were both head to toes against it.

Ignorance is bliss. Ogiwara spent his weekend according to this saying. He was in complete denial about his confrontation with the red tyrant and refused at any cost to have a trip to memory land and recall that moment. Though he felt pretty irritated and proud of his words at that time, now that he was getting better and  _saner_ , dared he add, the very thought that he retorted back to the Absolute freak in his school was downright terrifying. In order to avoid any mental damage, he simply denied the fact that he read and talked back to Akashi Seijuro and let himself float in the wave of attention and healthcare that the couple at home brought onto him. When the time would come, Ogiwara would force himself to face the reality of things.

Akashi Seijuro felt insulted. For the first time in his life, someone down looked his Emperor eyes. In complete disbelief at that time, he registered the tense and rigid facial muscles of Ogiwara Shigehiro as the latter laid 'unconscious' on the infirmary bed. It didn't take more for the Akashi heir to know that the brunette was faking the whole thing, but what completely baffled him was that this little weakling thought that his eyes would not catch him. He got underestimated, and he hated it. Before he could even stop this little charade of the sick boy, he saw his relative rush to him and carry him out of the room.

"This little-ughh!" He grunted in frustration.

Nothing, absolutely nothing went according to what he had in mind for this little meeting. He was completely bewildered after being left alone in that little sickening white room. He got confronted by some pathetic boy. He could not even mention about his plan of recruiting Ogiwara and the last drop that spilled the vase was the humiliation of his blessed eyes that could see everything.  _How dare that Meiko boy to pull such a dirty little weak trick on him?_

However, Akashi refused to feel disappointed. Disappointment was a sister feeling of failure, and he never fails. He just had to get to Ogiwara again, when the said boy was in his normal frame of mind and not under the influence of some petty drugs. The brunette mocked and defied his absoluteness by faking his moves in front of his eyes, so he would have to face the consequences soon.

The words of the Ogiwara did not get to him as much as his blunt attitude rubbed on his nerves. Now that the heir finally got to talk to him personally, the heir felt like he was up to some real challenge, though it was off the basketball court. The brunette was kind of unpredictable, and Akashi was a tiny little bit pleased about that. After remaining still for twenty minutes in order to allow all the adrenaline in his body to break down, Akashi finally weighed the results of this encounter. Though he was not faced with what he predicted and got a foul mouth from Ogiwara instead, he was rather thrilled by the unforeseen actions of the said boy. As much as it infuriated the red head to admit it, Akashi felt entertained.

He spent his weekend doing the usual things he was supposed to do. Akashi flew to some places for some official meetings, gave away threats like candies and got his work done. Even though everything reflected his usual routine, his mind sometimes took him back to the infirmary incident that occurred,, breaking him out of the boredom of his profession occasionally. Ogiwara Shigehiro dared to go against his words. He had to make sure that the boy does not repeat the same thing again. Akashi Seijuro was actually looking forward to go to school on Monday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Comments and kudos will be much appreciated. :)


	5. Chapter 5

When Monday finally came, Ogiwara did not want to get out of bed. It was not because of his now cured cold, but because of a certain redhead in his class. He managed to spend two peaceful days without thinking about what he did, but it was now time for him to face the reality. He gave Akashi Seijuro a piece of his mind, without censoring his mouth. When the said person finally manage to shake him, he pretended to faint in order to get away as soon as he saw the opportunity. Ogiwara did not deserve an Oscar for his acting. He deserved an award for being the most coward person on Earth.

However, when her sister asked if he wanted to stay at home for the day, he refused the offer. He was a lazy ass. Tell him to wash the dishes, do the laundry, sweep the rooms or anything else he did not like, he could throw a crying fit and even play dead to avoid the task. However, he found some sort of peace in his studies and thus hated to miss his classes. Ogiwara was a very studious person since the beginning, but became very showy about it in order to please his family since last year. He insisted on going to school though his mind screamed danger. Reluctantly, he made his way out of the bed and got ready for school.

The moment Ogiwara entered the school premises, he shivered even though it was officially summer time. He felt like he just got into a lion's den. He was greeted with a pair of heterochromatic eyes that never left him when he entered the class. Akashi Seijuro was looking at him, and the moment they made eye contact, Ogiwara wanted to cry. Even though the heir had his usual disinterested face on, every cell in his body knew that this fury redhead was not going to leave him alone. He started mumbling some prayers after greeting his friends while making his way to his window seat. Akashi held his gaze on the brunette all the time he was in front of him. The moment he got behind, Ogiwara no more felt those crazy eyes on him and was instantly relieved. Akashi would not turn back to carry on with those looks he was throwing at him.

Ogiwara managed to avoid clashing routes with Akashi during the whole day. However, being the good person he was, his conscience kept reminding him that he had to apologize to the redhead, no matter how much he did not want to face him. He was rude to him, no matter how much of a snob the boy was behaving like. He loved his life, and he had to at least try to prevent a calamity under the name of Akashi Seijuro befall on his joyous little moments.

As soon as the bell rang, Ogiwara started to pack his bag. His friends approached to him and started some casual chats as he was stuffing his materials in the bag. The classroom was clearing over as students started to move out. A last few remaining students were in the room as he stood up. He registered, with much dread, that Akashi Seijuro was sitting still on his seat. Ogiwara felt his words die down in his throat. Just when he went silent, the redhead moved his head slightly in his direction, though he was still looking in front. Akashi was expecting something from him, and thus sat waiting for his approach.

Reluctantly, Ogiwara told his two friends to go ahead. The only person who remained in the room besides him was now a certain redhead he did not want to face.

"Akashi-sama," he said cautiously as he approached the sitting person.

"Shigehiro," the redhead acknowledged as the boy came in front of him.

"About last Friday…" Ogiwara started while avoiding the intent gaze set on him. He busied himself looking at the neat handwriting of Akashi in his notebook. The brunette gulped before continuing.

"I apologize for my rude behavior!" he said quickly while bowing down and squeezing his eyes shut. So much for trying to play brave in front of the piece of living terror in front of him.

"Is that all?" the Akashi heir asked in a nonchalant voice.

Ogiwara slowly straightened up. He was puzzled by the question that was thrown at him. He decided to take a peek at the sitting Lord in front of him and felt a chill when his eyes met with a glowing mismatched pair of orbs. The heir had his usual face of aristocracy, only his eyes seemed to project some foreign feelings.

"E-eh?" Ogiwara sputtered confusingly. He quickly broke the eye contact again. "Ha-hai, that would be it…" he muttered quietly. Behind his little back, the brunette crossed his fingers hoping earnestly that the redhead did not catch his little acting.

"Don't you have something else to apologize for?" Akashi questioned. He was glad that the brunette finally cracked under fear.

"Ahh… No. I don't know," Ogiwara forced himself to say.

"Your fainting game was really weak." Akashi said politely, in an amused tone.

And here Ogiwara seriously considered to join an acting class.  _Who was he, trying to fool the Emperor's eyes?_  Ogiwara wanted to strangle himself. He started to break a cold sweat after knowing that he had been caught.

"Well.. I I ," Ogiwara could not find anything to say.

"Follow me," the red head stated. Akashi was glad to be finally on move and expected the brunette to follow his footsteps.

"But I have to get to – '' Ogiwara tried to refuse but it only took one glare from Akashi to shut him up.

"You're coming with me." Akashi said.

Ogiwara unwillingly followed the red tyrant. However, when he noticed the direction that the red heir was taking him to, he shivered. He instantly pulled out his phone and called his brother-in-law, but the phone was switched off. His misfortune for the day must be over the top, he thought miserably. After all, Akashi Seijuro and the first string gym was a deadly, toxic combo for Ogiwara.

The moment they both reached in front of the gym, Ogiwara froze. The absence of the thumps and swishes inside meant that their club activities had not started yet. From the look, some students were warming up, and the majority seemed to be changing. Ogiwara searched for any traces of his brother-in-law or even the head coach, but both were not here. Sensing their absence, he felt even more reluctant to get in the building. It was not like Akashi's actions depended on those two older males. He knew that no one could control the red head. However, the presence of someone elder in there could have provided Ogiwara with a little sense of security, even though he knew that he would ultimately have to face the silent wrath of the Akashi heir.

When Akashi noticed the lack of movement from Ogiwara, he turned around. The view that met his eyes was fulfilling. The brunette froze in front of the large building, and made no sign to move inside. In his hand was a phone he was clutching tightly and on his face was an expression that showcased his inner turmoil. Akashi felt satisfied. He only gave a little trailer of what he had planned for their evening by bringing the boy here, and was satisfied to see that Ogiwara was already having a hard time. Both the head coach and that little stupid assistant had to go for a meeting concerning the preliminaries of the InterHigh, even though the assistant had tried his best to avoid leaving the premises when he got the news. No one would be able to get this little weakling out of his plans for today.

"Why don't we have a little game, Shigehiro? It's been such a long time since we faced each other."

If Ogiwara felt like entering a lion's den when he came to school today, he could say with much conviction that now, he felt like placing his ass in the lion's mouth.

* * *

Ogiwara was proud of the struggles that he managed to overcome in his own little ways after his defeat against his Generation of Miracles. Along with his close ones, he had been able to knock out many inner demons that tried to bring the worst out of him. He learned from them, grew from the lessons and got over his passion for basketball. In the end, he agreed that his 'everlasting' passion for basketball would not surmount the humiliation he faced so easily and quickly. His time with basketball came to an abrupt end, and he open-handedly welcomed a new life in this new town.

He would always think jokingly that he had a bad breakup with basketball, where they both decided to just not face each other. Call it cowardice or escapism, Ogiwara did not allow himself to play basketball since that time. He refused to give himself a chance with this game again. It was not like he could not play, though. Basketball was not the problem here; his own will was the issue. He just did not felt ready to get on the court and feel the ball yet. He was not denying the possibility of this happening in the future, but, it was not feasible for him now. He had so much emotions to get in order concerning this particular activity. He still had to grow some tough, scar tissues around his heart to properly heal from the subtle emotional impacts of the defeat.

For many reasons, when Akashi asked him for a little game, Ogiwara could only stare at the redhead in complete disbelief. The heir could not do this to him now, not when he was finally contented with how things were proceeding in his life. Not when he managed to get over the troubled waters. Ogiwara had prepared himself for some serious recruitment orders and (lack of) arguments, but definitely not a game. He wanted to push that guy away, wanted to run from this place back home where he could bury himself under the covers and never get up. He refused to move. He refused to get inside. He refused to get on that court.

The pair of mismatched orbs that met his eyes told him otherwise though. Akashi Seijuro does not take no as an answer. When the redhead grabbed his wrist and dragged him in the large building, Ogiwara was still not able to speak. He was too dumbstruck and frightened by the 'invitation' of the red tyrant. Akashi had knocked the words out of him by requesting for a game. A game that Ogiwara knew more than anything else that he was not ready for. He was already in the gym, near the edge of an unoccupied court. This detail itself was already making him break a few cold sweats.

He dreadfully watched the basketball captain go towards one of the uncrowned kings. Mibuchi Reo, he recognized. The moment the black-haired guy noticed him, he smiled at him and began talking but Ogiwara could not hear a thing. He could not tell if it was because of the wide distance between them or that he was frightened to a point of deafness. He could not care less about that guy though. He had more important things to worry about, like how to fight the fright that was trying to take over his sanity.

After their little talk, Ogiwara saw Mibuchi shouting and motioning everyone in the gym to move outside, behind the red-haired heir who was heading towards him. Akashi must have made some arrangements for a some privacy, Ogiwara thought painfully. He was going to be left alone with the guy he least wanted to face right now, to have a game he least wanted to play right now. Ignoring the approaching predator, he tried his luck one last time by dialing Takuo-san's number, but in vain. The first statement of Akashi crushed the little hope he had of escaping. He knew that the Akashi heir must have had planned all of this in a very timely manner.

"The head coach and his assistant won't be here for a while," Akashi stated.

Ogiwara started to shake visibly as he watched the redhead pick a basketball nearby. He was already sweating profusely, and could feel his heart thumping violently against his ribcage. The adrenaline that travelled in his body was internally screaming at him to take flight, but the piercing glare of the Akashi heir kept him fixed on the spot. Ogiwara was facing an inner mayhem that drove him sick.

He struggled to maintain his calm as he watched the redhead start dribbling on the court. No other person was there except for those two, and the sound of the ball constantly hitting on the floor resonated in the gym. When he waited for his brother-in-law outside on some days, he used to find this sound weirdly soothing, but now that he had to face the source of it, he was feeling anything but soothed. The view of Akashi lightly dribbling the ball as if to test its consistency was magnificently scary to him, and Ogiwara was not planning to play along with the said boy.

"Come here," Akashi ordered.

Even though he knew that he had to comply to this order, Ogiwara felt so tense that he could not move a muscle. He stood still in the place where he was dragged to and kept watching Akashi as he dribbled and worked the court effortlessly in front of him. He felt as if the basketball Emperor was teasing him, mocking him for standing up against his words. Ogiwara was forcefully reminded of the bad times he met because of the boredom and wickedness of the guy in front of him. Unwanted thoughts and memories began flashing in his mind as the redhead shot this order to him.

However, his cool but petrified composure began crumbling quickly as Ogiwara registered the tight grip of the red tyrant around his wrist. He was so lost in his own thoughts at first that he did not notice the redhead coming towards him. Akashi Seijuro was dragging him again, this time on the goddamn court. As soon as he realized that he was already on the court, Ogiwara quickly took his wrist away from the heir and stopped moving alongside. Akashi turned around and looked at his little act with amused eyes before heading for the ball that he previously dropped on the ground.

"Let's have a nice play, Shigehiro," Akashi said with a cold smile.

The redhead began approaching him with the ball, but Ogiwara kept standing still.

"No." He finally managed to said in a very low, shaking voice. This got the redhead to stop moving.

"Do you dare to repeat that again?" Akashi asked politely, with menace dripping in his voice.

"No," the brunette said, a little bit more confidently while lifting his face to look at the player in front of him.

Ogiwara noticed the slight frown that settled on Akashi's face following his refusal. He knew that he was inviting some big troubles, but he had no intention of following his order. Ogiwara did not want to play basketball right now, and no one, not even an Akashi Seijuro, would get him to do so. He was scared, terrified even, but these emotions of fear still could not empower his strong feelings of remaining away from the game. He was more than determined to avoid this play; he was resolute about it.

"Pick up the ball," Akashi said as he threw the ball in front of him.

The ball landed near his feet and rolled towards him. Ogiwara stared at the basketball for a few seconds. Millions of thoughts were running through his mind in an attempt to get him to listen or defy the words of the Akashi heir. He only had to pick up the ball, he finally thought. Ogiwara slowly bended down to pick the ball. He held the ball in his shaking hands as he straightened up and looked at Akashi. The redhead looked like he was enjoying the whole thing.

"Pass it to me," Akashi ordered.

Ogiwara silently complied to the redhead and passed the ball clumsily to him. He could pass the ball easily, just like he used to pass stuffs in class or in the kitchen. He carefully threw it to the basketball captain and watched as the redhead caught it in a swift motion. Picking up the ball and passing it over could be completely unrelated to a game play; following this viewpoint, Ogiwara had been able to follow the orders of Akashi.

"Good. Now try to stop me from scoring a basket," Akashi said.

This was too much for Ogiwara. The last order was clearly an attempt to get him into the game, but he was still adamant on not playing. His back was drenched with sweat and his hands were moist and rolled into tight little fists. Going against the words of the Almighty Akashi was very, very scary and nerve-wrenching, but Ogiwara had to do so.

"No." Ogiwara refused while avoiding the gaze of Akashi.

"You are in no position to refuse me," the redhead spat out.

"No," Ogiwara repeated.

"Your refusal does not change anything," Akashi stated with a light scoff.

"I am not going to play." Ogiwara matched his eyes with the heterochromatic pair in front of him while speaking. He was shaking and was getting frustrated since his words failed to reach the redhead. Constantly rejecting the orders of Akashi Seijuro could be equated to a death wish by many people. Yet, Ogiwara kept on saying no as if his being depended on it.

"You are going to do what I told you. You should know better than to defy my words." Akashi was slowly losing his cool demeanor. The constant refusals of the brunette was starting to get on his nerves.

"I am not going to play," Ogiwara reiterated in a firm voice that was a complete contrast to his shaky appearance.

"It's not like you can't play, really. You did not have any problem while handling the ball. You can try to face me off," Akashi reasoned.

"No." Ogiwara's voice began to quiver very slightly, but his determination to not play was unwavering.

"We're going to have a one-on-one," Akashi said as he walked closer to Ogiwara.

Ogiwara groaned in frustration as the redhead pretended to not hear him and carry on with his speculations. He was scared shitless, but fear had nothing to do with his unwillingness to try his luck with basketball again. Even if the redhead downright threatened to take his life, he would not play. Ogiwara could be very stubborn concerning his personal issues.

"No." Akashi frowned at the refusal of the brunette this time. He was so close to snap at the boy, but decided to do otherwise.

"You cannot refuse my order, Shigehiro. You called this on yourself. You dared to underestimate the vision of my Emperor's eye and failed miserably. If you do not want things to get even worse for you, comply to my words and play," Akashi said in a grave tone that sent chills down Ogiwara's spine.

Ogiwara took some deep, shaky breaths in an attempt to calm himself and gulped.

"I apologized sincerely for my rude behavior on Friday," he began while throwing a strained glance at the redhead. He kept his gaze on him as he continued. " No matter how much of a snobby brat you are, it was wrong for me to talk to you like that. I don't know how you were raised or what you lived through in your life and it was really inconsiderate for me to snap at you. I am telling you this again, I am sorry," Ogiwara said shakily, but as sincerely as he could.

" That being said, I really have no intentions of playing against you," he ended in a determined voice.

"Then I can assume that it would cause you no trouble to join the basketball club and play besides me," Akashi mused in a teasing tone that sent some alarms off in the brunette's head.

"No!" Ogiwara's voice finally cracked as he failed to contain some of his emotions.

"Yes," Akashi said in an amused tone, definitely enjoying the scene.

"I am not playing, goddamnit!" Ogiwara snapped as he clenched his fist and bid goodbye to his cool. He was on the verge of breaking into tears from the stress, frustration and dread that he was experiencing.

"Watch your mouth," Akashi hissed.

 _The same old words,_ Ogiwara thought with a nervous laugh. The majestic brat in front of him really did not have any idea on how emotions could get the best of people at times.

"How can I do so when you're pushing me to the edge?!" Ogiwara replied to Akashi with a pained smile and a very strained face. His legs gave out from all the nervous wreckage that was going on in his brain. He fell on his knees in front of the tyrant and chuckled helplessly. This reminded him of the Emperor's famous ankle break move.

"You are going to play." Ogiwara gritted his teeth at the same freaking statement of Akashi.

"I am not going to play just because some majestic heir like you order me to do so!" the brunette finally snapped in a loud, raspy voice. He felt his heart trying to break out from his chest.

"I'm going play when I fucking feel like doing so!" he continued with a cracking voice while facing the redhead and looking at him right into his mismatched eyes to get the message over.

" You can't change the way I feel and you really can't bend my unwillingness to play basketball, especially right now!" Ogiwara finally yelled loudly, voice quivering and fists trembling as he finally let everything out. He looked at Akashi with pleading eyes and felt his cheeks wet and his vision a bit blurred. He had a few streams of tears already falling down his face. The whole confrontation had gotten his emotions in a big chaos while he shouted his honest thoughts. He must be looking like a complete mess right now, Ogiwara thought.

"Pathetic." Akashi spewed at Ogiwara, confirming his thoughts.

Ogiwara closed his eyes tightly and felt a few more tears drop down as he waited for a reply from the redhead. He prayed to the heavens for the redhead to finally get his message. After a few moments, he heard some footsteps fading away. He opened his eyes and was relieved to see Akashi moving out.

Akashi was  _thrilled_. He was very satisfied by the complete breakdown of the brave façade of Ogiwara, and even enjoyed the view of the teen boy crying on his knees in front of him and pleading with tearful eyes in the end. His initial annoyance from the constant refusals of the brunette to play against him vanished completely as the said boy broke down.

Akashi did not give a damn if the boy did not want to play basketball or anything. One thing he was sure of, he was not going to waste his precious time while trying to tame that little weakling into playing again. Getting Ogiwara to play by his sides against Kuroko for the Winter Cup was now out of question. He did not have to bother with trying to get that coward into the club for some matches and play-offs. Akashi would wait for the InterHighs to get over before deciding what he could do with the Meiko boy. The boy was surely bringing some entertainment in his life by defying his predictions, and Akashi knew that it would be a pity if he decided to ignore that boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am pissed drunk and happy after so long. I finally met with one of my few friends after a month of self-imposed isolation here at uni and wow. I must be pathetic, writing fanfiction and escaping my issues through the net instead of facing them. Maldaptive coping mechanisms? Maybe. But hey it keeps me alive! Anyway, enough with my bullshit sad story. I hope you liked the story! More of Akashi-Ogiwara interactions yayyyyy~ It was so hard to write Akashi istg but it's so fulfilling in a way as well.   
> Comments and Kudos will be so much appreciated! Hope you all have a nice time~


	6. Chapter 6

Ogiwara did not know for how long he had been kneeling on the same spot in the gym. His eyes were still teary and his breath was a bit shaky from the encounter, even though Akashi was already gone. He was completely exhausted. He wanted to lay on the ground and sleep forever, but he remained still. Time ticked away as he kept going through what just happened in his mind. He was still very nervous and jerky and some tears even escaped from his eyes occasionally, though he was not really crying. He was in shock, and needed some time to recover.

Yet, he was forced out of his thinking process when he felt someone shake him slightly. He looked up at that person, and slowly looked around. Ogiwara realized that he was occupying the basketball court, and the members were now coming back in the gym. The basketball captain was nowhere in sight. He moved his head back to the guy who was addressing to him.

"Are you alright?" asked a blond guy, looking slightly concerned.

Did he look alright? Ogiwara noticed other members approaching him. He did not want to create a scene. Another tear escaped his right eye as he blinked. He briskly wiped his eyes and cheeks with the back of his hands. Gathering every little ounce of energy that remained in him, he forced a tight smile on his face and looked back at that guy. The blond guy, who he now recognized as Kotaru Hayama, frowned at the display.

"I'm fine, thank you. I'll just move from here," Ogiwara replied, knowing that he did not sound convincing at all. He laughed nervously.

"Sorry for making you all worry," he said hastily as he looked at the little audience who gathered around him.

He clumsily got up and picked up his bag that was laying near the court. Ogiwara rushed away before someone tried to probe into his matters. Even though it was already getting dark, he went to the kitchen in hope of finding Maeno-sensei to apologize for missing the activities for today. When he got to meet the teacher, the older woman threw him a look of concern before asking about his condition. He must have been looking all pathetic with his fluched, tearstained face. The teacher shrugged away the apology and told him to go home and rest.

Ogiwara did not wait for his brother-in-law that day. He went home as quickly as he could and shut himself up in his room. His thoughts lingered back to what happened, and he felt a bitter taste down his throat. Without thinking twice, he rushed to the toilet and puked his guts out. Thank god no one was home yet, or else what he was doing could be misinterpretated as something worse and push the whole family into a chaotic state. The emotional rollercoaster he went on today made him sick. He went for a quick shower and after a very, very long time, he ignored his pending homework and went to sleep.

When Takuo returned to school, he was expecting to find his little brother-in-law waiting for him outside the gym to claim for a ride home after a tiring school day. He started dreaming of the good food that the teen boy must have prepared. However, he met with a bit of sadness and disappointment when he noticed the absence of Ogiwara. Maybe the kid was still in the kitchen, he mused with a drunken-like smile as he thought of the nice food Ogiwara must be making. As soon as he entered the gym, he smiled and waved to the practicing members while the head coach went directly towards them. Takuo had to get to the office and arrange the new documents. He was a bit confused and dropped his smile when he saw a few members stop practicing to look at him and among each other. Did something happen in his absence?

Before he even got the time to enquire, Mibuchi approached him with a light jog. This looked like some bad news to Takuo.

"Sensei… the punch-kid who used to return with you was in a pretty bad shape today," the teen boy started carefully. Takuo's eyes widened upon hearing his words.

"Was it Akashi?" he interrupted the kid. That was the only thing he needed to know.

"Yeah," Mibuchi confirmed.

Without any further ado, Takuo dumped the paperwork on the student and rushed out of the building. He went to the cooking club and met with even more disappointment, along with some panic this time, when he learned that Ogiwara had already left for home with the teacher's permission. It did not make things easier for him when Maeno-sensei told him that the brunette was very shaken.

He went home immediately since he knew that his wife was going to be working overtime today. A disturbed Ogiwara and loneliness could end up dangerously. He recalled the hard times the kid had to face and prayed that he was alright. When he finally got home though, he was shocked to see Ogiwara sprawled on his bed in a deep slumber. He let his eyes travel to his wrists and waist to look for any traces of red, and was relieved to see nothing new. Only a few, faint white lines met his eyes. The frown that the brunette was sporting on his face while sleeping was not pleasing. Takuo moved closer to the teen and poked in between his eyebrows to drive it away.

Takuo made a mental note to check if the teen boy was eating properly tomorrow.

"You know something, don't you?" Ogiwara said teasingly while throwing a side-way glance at his wide-eyed brother-in-law in the car.

They were currently heading to school, and the teen boy noticed the extra attention that the older male was giving him, especially during breakfast time today. After a good sleep and a few consoling thoughts, Ogiwara was able to calm himself down. Since he exposed his pathetic weak self to the redhead with cries and tears, he hoped that Akashi no longer saw him as someone fit to play alongside with him. Bringing a crying little shrimp in a club of ripped teenage boys could be awkward for the basketball captain. After all, his splendid waterworks in the gym did not go unnoticed by the club members. Takuo-san must have heard of something yesterday about his little clash with the majestic heir.

"I kind of heard some stuffs about yesterday.." the older male proceeded slowly.

"I swear to god, you won't believe me," the brunette said enthusiastically while looking at his brother-in-law.

It would be better for Ogiwara to spill the beans in his own dramatic way in order to avoid the anxiety he went through yesterday. If he had to narrate the whole story to someone, he might as well paint himself as some goddamn Olympic hero in it.

The older male frowned slightly. If he wanted to know more about what happened, he had to go along with it. He wiped that frown away from his face and lifted one eyebrow to look at Ogiwara quizzically.

"Spill it boy," he prompted.

"I told the Gorgon head that I am not going to start playing basketball again just because some goddamn majestic heir like him asks me to do so," Ogiwara said coolly.

The car came to an abrupt end on the road as Takuo hit the brakes to stare incredulously at the kid sitting next to him. Some cars started honking but the older male could not care less since they were still in the residential areas. The other drivers could just pass onto the next lane or even build a bridge and drive over the car, for all he cared. Ogiwara just dropped a bomb on him, for god's sake. Takuo still could not believe his ears; his mind was blown.

"You WHAT?" he asked in such a high pitched voice that could have put his wife to shame.

"I told him, let me quote "I'm going to play when I fucking feel like doing so" and told him off basically," Ogiwara continued, feeling like some Herculean being. He was enjoying the whole thing so freaking much.

Takuo-san's mouth dropped open in complete shock. His face got paler than the whiteboard in his class.

"How the freaking hell did he take it?" the older male enquired as he got over his initial shock.

"Well, being the snob he is, he sashayed away," Ogiwara said as if he was stating the natural.

"Really?" Takuo still could not believe this. His adorable brother-in-law did not become delusional after his encounter with the Gorgon head yesterday, right? Many bad thoughts started going through his mind as he looked at the kid with concerned eyes.

"Don't give me that look. I'm neither mad nor lying," Ogiwara said while rolling his eyes. Takuo-san could be so obvious at times.

"He left me alone, but I was a complete trashy mess in the end. You see, it can be quite a pain in the ass to go against some Medusa-like creature who thinks of himself as some victory deity, but I'm alive! You should really stop worrying, especially after seeing me eat like a starved lion in the morning," he added with a little pout and a waving hand to shoo away the tension that was apparent on his brother-in-law's face.

Takuo was glad that the kid finally dropped his brave act. He was not happy about the fact that Ogiwara was shaken by the Akashi heir, but it made him feel a bit better to know that the teen boy was confessing about it. This could mean that the boy had been able to deal with it in his own way and got over his issues.

"Umm.. I also kind of told the Gorgon head that he will not be able to bend my unwillingness to play basketball," the teen boy admitted quietly while looking outside to avoid the gaze of his brother-in-law. He knew that it was a horrible idea to challenge the red fury so blatantly. Before the older male got to throw a fuss about it, he quickly turned around to face him and continued.

"Now that you know everything, you will talk to that head coach and will not let the snobby brat do anything bad to me, ne?" Ogiwara put on a cheesy smile as he sprung his right arm in front of him and thumbed up at his brother-in-law.

The older male sighed loudly. This kid was going to be the death of him.

"I already talked to Shirogane-san about you. He said he would be careful with the recruitment requests so you don't have to worry. Your big brother is here to help you!" the older male threw on his own replica of Ogiwara's cheesy smile and made his right thumb up too.

Both male sighed in relief as Takuo started the engine and headed to Rakuzan High. They both silently prayed to the gods that Akashi Seijuro, against his winning maniac nature, would not do something crazy to them.

Ogiwara was going through hell. His eyes were swelling up with tears and a few sweats were already forming on his forehead. The pain he got a taste of was excruciating and he could not filter his mouth from the profanities that he kept spewing as he ran towards the gym. Today was not a good day for him, all because of some unapologetic witches found in his school kitchen. One goddamn brat bumped into him and spilled some piping hot sauce on him. Did that female dog apologize? Of course not! She must have caught some germs from Akashi to behave like that. What could he expect from humanity now? Ogiwara wanted to grip her twin tails and rip them off her head but he was burning, literally. He should better fear for the safety of his nipples first.

He nearly flew across the gym towards the shower room while holding his red-stained school blouse away from his delicate skin. Thank god it was not his spaghetti Bolognese that got spilled; at least that uncivilized girl made a loss. Not like her food was as amazing as his though, Ogiwara thought. That sauce must have just been out from the cooking pot. It was so damn hot. Little did he realize that rushing into a building with a foul mouth and a blouse all stained in red could perhaps attract the attention of some people in there. Everyone's attention in the gym was instantly grabbed by the Ogiwara.

"Did I see red on him?" Hayama pondered aloud.

Upon hearing the words of him teammate, Mibuchi shrieked loudly with widening eyes.

"Oh my god! Was that blood all over his shirt?! Did he get hurt? We need to call the ambulance, someone inform the assistant coach!" the black-haired boy yelled as he ran behind the burning brunette.

The rest of the uncrowned kings and a certain redhead made their way behind and followed Mibuchi. One of the other players ran to the staff room to inform the assistant coach about this incident. Of course, just when Takuo-san was needed in the gym, he would be slacking off somewhere else, duh.

As soon as Ogiwara entered the shower room, he took off his doomed blouse and his handkerchief from his pocket. He quickly dampened the clean handkerchief and began swiping the sauce that was on his chest and (flat) belly. The cold water was such a blessing. He let out a loud sigh of relief as he started to clean himself off. Thankfully, his pants were not stained by the whole mess.

He did not even have to time to swipe away all the remnants of the red sauce when a loud and breathless Mibuchi crashed into the room.

"Are you alright?!" the older teen enquired quickly.

"Yeah, an uncultured girl spilled some Bolognese sauce on me in the kitchen," Ogiwara replied quickly in an attempt to calm the other boy.

As he gave his reply, the other kings and a particular redhead he had been avoiding for the past following weeks made their way inside. It has been a couple of weeks since the mental breakdown he had in the gym and the Interhigh preliminaries had just started. Ogiwara was thankful to the gods for keeping the Akashi heir away from him and busy with god knows what he had to do.

"Red sauce," Hayama laughed out loud as he registered the whole thing.

"Some filthily hot red sauce." Ogiwara had to bite his tongue to avoid adding 'bitch' at the end of his comment while giving a death glare at the idiot laughing at his pain.

While he was throwing daggers from his eyes at Hayama, Takuo came rushing in and was on the verge of throwing a fuss. Thankfully, the teacher enquired what happened before doing anything this time, and thus Ogiwara was able to escape a wave of unnecessary scolding. When he noticed the slight frown on his brother-in-law's face, he knew that the big idiot was not convinced about his honest statement about the red sauce and kitchen accidents. Did stupid Sato-san really thought that it was blood all over his blouse? Ogiwara felt offended.

"I'm a lover, not a fighter!" He muttered angrily at the older male.

Ogiwara wanted to slap some sense into him. What did his sister find in that man?! Well, apart from the six-pack abs and a decent salary… Ogiwara stopped his train of thoughts. He grabbed the stained shirt and shoved it in the hands of Takuo.

"Smell it, or even lick it if you are still unconvinced that it's not blood," Ogiwara was getting ticked off, and the amused stares and chuckles from the people in the room was not making him feel any better.

"It's not going to taste good though, because I did not prepare that filthy thing. My food is safe and sound in the kitchen. I'm not happy about this whole thing so don't you dare laugh!" he warned the teacher as he noticed the mouth of Takuo turning upwards.

"Fine, fine, I believe you. I'm going to get you a clean shirt. I think I have a spare one in the car. Wait for me here," Takuo said while suppressing his laugh. He went out quickly, leaving Ogiwara behind with the little group of teens who followed him.

The skin that got into contact with the sauce was getting slightly pink, but thank god they were not blistered or burnt. He inspected his torso in the large mirror in front of the many sinks. It still hurt like a bitch, Ogiwara thought annoyingly. It was not a good thing to laugh at the misfortune of others, he implored internally as he noticed some of the guys struggling to suppress their laugh. Okay, maybe if one day he got to see the Akashi heir slip and fall in front of him, he would laugh his ass off instead of helping. He continued with his routine of placing the damp handkerchief on the affected areas.

Ogiwara sneakily threw a glance at the awkward audience gathered around. When his eyes fell on the redhead, he got an ingenious idea. Why did he not think of this earlier? This was a golden opportunity for him to flaunt his perfectly unfit body as an athlete! He was not skeletal, but his lack of muscles and skinny figure did scream laziness and weakness for a particular game involving a ball and hoops. He could rub this fact on the red devil's face like some cleansing soap to wipe away the horrible recruitment ideas that the other teen was having!

The Akashi heir always managed to catch him in a not-so-good condition. Well, it was not like the redhead followed him to have a talk this time. With that epic entrance he made into the gym, Ogiwara might have as well scream bloody murder to complete the dramatic effect. But their first real encounter was because of his swollen wrist, then it was during his cold and now, Akashi Seijuro was here to see his ordeal with the red sauce. This guy was bringing bad luck to him, Ogiwara decided. The further he was from the snob, he better it would be for him.

Now that he was already shirtless and it the little audience had not yet started to move out, he quickly sucked in (a lot) his non-existent tummy to bring out his hip bones and lower ribs while wiping himself cold and clean. Even though that he was not able to confirm it directly, he knew that some people's eyes must be on him, and Ogiwara did notice Mibuchi's slightly shocked expression at the view of his protruding hip bones. He prayed that the red head was also feeling the same internally. No one would want a skinny guy like him on their team, right? Ogiwara fought the urge to grin like some Cheshire cat.

After a few awkward seconds, Ogiwara declared this pathetic excuse of exhibiting his poor attributes in front of perfectly fit and muscle ripped athletes to be painfully awkward. He was getting a bit self-conscious as he realized that they were probably not used to see such a lack of muscles in their shower room. But Ogiwara sucked it up and continued to stand topless shamelessly while giving his back to the little group even though the mirror in front of him gave them a good view of him, at the discomfort of both parties. It seemed like some of the boys around him wanted to say something, but Ogiwara could not care less.

One funny sight was the muscle man among the uncrowned kings. Eikichi Nebuya was definitely not happy with the sight in front of him. The buff guy looked at Ogiwara as if he caught a glimpse of his grandma's tits. That guy was totally appalled at first. And then, when the tanned male opened his mouth, he uncannily reminded Ogiwara of a certain Akashi Seijuro, though he was not in any sense mimicking the redhead. Eikichi scoffed, while throwing a look of disgust at Ogiwara.

Ogiwara knew that look. He had been given that look a lot in his last middle school when he transferred, and he knew a few very unpleasant words that could accompany such a look. He hoped that the buff boy kept his mouth shut, or else things could end up not in a good way, given that he was already pissed off because his ruined shirt and pinkish skin. But of course, things never went the way he hoped.

"Sissy, hmph," Eikichi mumbled.

Ogiwara rolled his eyes when he heard those words. He did not really mind people commenting on how skinny he was or even how feminine or soft a few of his body structures were but what he could not stand was the use of pejoratives. That muscle mania just said the taboo word, and Ogiwara was sure to catch it. Hands crossed over his chest, he turned his back around to give the said guy the look.

Ogiwara was serving his classic bitch face.

The atmosphere in the room tensed up instantly. If one squinted their eyes, lightning could be seen in the glares that the little brunette was throwing to Eikichi. Akashi, who was proceeding to leave, paused at the doorway to watch the scene. Ogiwara decided to seize this occasion to prove one more thing to the red heir. He was going to show the basketball captain just how well he would be with the other members in the club by massacring the dynamics of his possible relationships with the team players. He was presented with a favorable opening when Eikichi stomped on his nerves in a very bad way. Mibuchi's breathing hiked up for a moment when he saw the look that Ogiwara was throwing at Eikichi. That look screamed so many things, but mainly "I'm going to give you the ass whooping of your life" was the statement behind it.

"How dare you?" Ogiwara said in a very pointed tone to the tanned male. He turned around completely to face Eikichi properly, like a real man. The poor guy was baffled by the sudden question. Everyone could say that the voice of Ogiwara was just the calm before the storm.

"W-what wrong did I do?" he replied bravely, though the initial stuttering kind of messed it up.

"To start with, your choice of words disgusts me. You should apologize for that very vulgar comment of yours, especially when you don't even know me well enough to come to such poorly constructed conclusions," Ogiwara snapped. He narrowed his eyes and maintained eye contact with the uncultured person he was addressing to.

"But you're so damn skinny! I don't see any muscles, and I don't' see any reason to respect you either," Eikichi quickly retorted back, without breaking eye contact.

"Skinny," Ogiwara scoffed with a laugh. He rolled his eyes again.

"Wow, you're such a genius, really. Let me clap for this big discovery of yours," he continued. His voice was dripping with so much sarcasm, and the bow with a slow clap that came along was even better. Hayama actually snorted from laughing too much when Ogiwara responded to the buff boy.

"Now, let me ask you one very simple question. How does me being skinny affect you?" Ogiwara asked Eikichi in a very serious tone. This got the rest of the audience, except for a certain redhead, cracking up in mute laughter. They did not want to offend their teammate, but that guy asked for it.

BAM! Ogiwara dropped his bomb question and met with silence. The muscle guy was definitely startled.

"No answer? I see… Maybe you should refrain yourself from imposing your ridiculously high standards on the people around you," Ogiwara stated with a lopsided smile that was anything but polite.

"Yeah, I agree with punch-kun," Punch-kun? What a terrible nickname, Ogiwara thought as he turned around to look at Mibuchi rooting for him. He raised one eyebrow at the guy questioningly.

"I'm fine with my slim built and Ogiwara is comfortable being skinny. You should not judge people based on their looks, Nebuya-san," Mibuchi chirped in, in an attempt to dissolve the tension between those two as well as to correct his teammate being the mother hen he was.

The muscle-packed teen looked a bit taken aback. Clearly, he did not think that his teammate would agree with the skinny boy who was trying to pick a fight with him. And Ogiwara was equally shocked. He was supposed to create a mess between him and the players, not join hands with one of them to go against another. He had no intentions of replying to Mibuchi and forge a friendship.

Both males ignored Mibuchi and continued with their arguments.

"You don't have any muscles. You seem very weak. I don't like you," Eikichi addressed to Ogiwara.

Ogiwara was very annoyed with the fact that Eikichi threw him in a box based on his looks only. He did not like people stereotyping him like that. Maybe he should give that guy a taste of his own medicine.

"And clearly, you have only muscles and no brain. Unlike me, it would be impossible for you to survive in a body like mine. The lack of muscles will make you die out of shock," Ogiwara replied impulsively while pointing his finger at the tanned male.

"You really should have used your brain a bit more before letting your mouth loose because it is downright wrong for you to judge me only from what you can see. I can be as fat as a dying whale or as thin as a branch stick and still deserve respect as a human being. Not giving me my due respect because of such a petty reason makes you a big, judgmental idiot. And guess what? I don't like you either!" Ogiwara replied.

After the blatant declaration of hate from Ogiwara, Takuo appeared with a clean shirt in hand. The bickering came to an abrupt end and Ogiwara quickly slipped into the oversized shirt of his brother-in-law. Great, after so much talking, he was now drowning in a piece of cloth way too large for him. Ogiwara did notice a few eyes travelling down to the faint white lines on his waist, and was grateful that no questions were asked. Again, he got a slight frown from Mibuchi, but that was all.

Ogiwara left the premises with his brother-in-law, very happy to leave this uncivilized muscle gorilla and ecstatic to have been able to show how bad his relationships could be with the team players in front of the basketball captain. He prayed that Akashi took note of his little show time and the new issues that might arise if he still insisted on dragging him into the club.

Akashi was undoubtedly a genius, but Ogiwara could be no less than a little cunning fox at times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for waiting <3 i got the first arc of the story completed and i'm cross posting it here now. i'll be updating more regularly now that i'm back from my slump. I'm so sorry for making you wait!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked the story so far! Rate and review?


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